NFL Playoff Games and Trends for Wild Card Weekend (Part 1)
Here are several betting angles and historical trends for every game in the Wild Card round of the NFL playoffs
After a regular season packed with many surprises, the NFL playoffs are finally here.
Who could have predicted the Green Bay Packers would miss the playoffs, while the Jacksonville Jaguars would win its division? Who thought Tom Brady would end up with a losing record, but his Bucs would be hosting a first-round playoff game? Who thought the New York Giants and Seattle Seahawks, considered to be in a rebuilding phase, were viable playoff contenders? And who predicted the reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams would be out of the playoff race by midseason and end up with the worst follow-up season in 50 years?
All six playoff games in the opening round will feature re-matches from the regular season. That's the first time this has happened came in 2009.
Meanwhile, the Philadelphia Eagles and Kansas City Chiefs get the week off as top seeds and get to enjoy a bye.
And finally, let's give massive props to Daman Hamlin, the Buffalo Bills star defensive player who continues to make a miraculous recovery.
And now, on to Wild Card weekend. Here's a look at the odds according to SPREADS.CA:
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ALL ODDS ARE COURTESY OF SPREADS.CA
Until last season's playoffs, underdogs had been on a great run in Wild Card games. The first round playoff pups were 15-3 ATS over the previous 18 games. Then, the favourites collared the dogs last year and went 5-1 ATS mark. This proves the old axiom that trends can be useful, but they shouldn't be the only tool in handicapping.
Last season in the playoffs, all six home teams were favourites. However, this year both Jacksonville (+1) and Tampa Bay (+2.5) opened as home underdogs to the Chargers and Cowboys, respectively.
Meanwhile, two teams (San Francisco and Buffalo) are listed double-digit home chalk to the NY Giants and Miami.
Coming Up: In the next report (Part 2), we'll list many of the top trends for each team in every playoff game.
