2017 NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round Betting Tips
The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is here and four massive games are scheduled over Sunday and Monday, we take a look at every game over the weekend and give our four best bets across the NFL this week.
Atlanta Falcons at Philadelphia Eagles (Sunday, 8:35am)
In a rare betting occurrence, the road team (Falcons) will start as the favourite against the 13-3 Eagles in this game. This is mainly due to backup QB Nick Foles starting for the Eagles and the fact is the Falcons just beat the 11-5 Rams on the road. The 26-13 win was driven mainly by the defence and that will be the key again this week. The Eagles will look to keep the ball on the ground and the Falcons defence will make Foles beat them in the air. Which we can’t see him doing. He went just 4/11 against the Cowboys before he was shutdown for the game. In his previous start, he completed just 50% of his passes against a mediocre Raiders defence. We can’t see a huge blowout but the Falcons 1-13 is good value. They’ve won their last two games via that margin and have only allowed 23 total points in those games, while scoring at an average of 24 points. The NFL is backing against the Eagles, but they still rank top 4 in overall points allowed and can keep this close. They also have a 9-1 record at home and 7-1 against Atlanta. However, Carson Wentz isn’t playing and that’s why the Falcons will just win. The 1-13 margin went 4-0 in the Wildcard playoffs so it is a good betting trend.
TIP: Falcons 1-13 – $2.55 at Sportsbet
Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots (Sunday, 12:15am)
The second game of the day will be the Patriots hosting the Titans. Tennessee went into Kansas City last week and came away with a huge win after a second half comeback. They’re a strong rushing team and that will be the key against the Patriots. They’ll have to keep the ball away from Brady and that is doable against this 21st ranked run defence. So they have a good chance to beat the line of 13 points, which seems high considering they just won a road playoff game. They’re 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games and lost by 3 points in the last playoff game in New England. They rank 11th in pass defence and that will be the key against Brady. The Patriots finished the season with a 4-1 record but weren’t overly impressive. They probably should of lost against the Steelers, struggled at home against the Bills before a second half blitz and were comfortably beaten at Miami. They’re 7-0 at home in the playoffs and tough to beat at home with Brady and co. But we can’t see a huge blowout this time around. So take the Titans to cover.
TIP: Titans +13 – $2.02 at CrownBet
Jacksonville Jaguars at Pittsburgh Steelers (Monday, 5:05am)
The storylines in this game is the Jaguars defence and the return of Antonio Brown for the Steelers. The Jaguars D picked off Big Ben five times in the first meeting of the season as Jacksonville won on the road 30-9. But since that game, Big Ben has tossed just 7 interceptions and 22 touchdowns in 9 starts. So we’re expecting a better showing from him. He’ll also get his number 1 target back in Brown after he missed a few games with injury. It’s hard to know if he’s 100% fit, but the Steelers have enough weapons without him as well. The Jaguars will be confident of an upset. They kept the Bills to just 3 points at home in their Wildcard victory. In their last 17 games against the Steelers, they’re 12-5 ATS and 4-1 straight up on the road against them. However, we’re going for a low scoring game here. The under total has saluted in 15 of the last 23 games between these sides and they both defend well. Jaguars QB Blake Bortles isn’t a great passer and the Steelers will likely keep them to around 10-17 points. So in the end, we can see the Steelers just winning by around 7 points in a low scoring game.
TIP: Under 40.5 points – $1.95 at Ladbrokes
New Orleans Saints at Minnesota Vikings (Monday, 8:40am)
This matchup is arguably the best of the round and we’ll have to wait until very last. The major reason why is one of the great Quarterbacks of all time (Drew Brees) takes on this impressive Vikings defence on the road. The Vikings have allowed 10 or less points in their last 4 victories. They also beat the Saints 29-19 in the first week of the season and it’s hard to see a different result. The Saints were poor defensively against the Panthers and were fairly lucky to win in the end. Brees had a great game but they couldn’t move the ball on the ground. This is a major concern against a Vikings D that allows just 83 rush yards per game. The Saints have a 4-4 road record this season and will struggle against this defence. On offence, the Vikings are strong as well. They finished just behind the Saints in rush and pass yards, so along with their defence, they’re the best bet here. After a 10 point win in the first meeting, we’ll be taking the Vikings 1-13 once again. We can’t see them blowing out the Saints with Brees on the field and they’ll have just enough points in them.
