It was a thrilling first week of NFL Playoff action on the weekend and the action continues this Sunday and Monday (AEDT) with another four massive games. We have a full preview and tips for all four games in the NFL Divisional Round below!
NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Betting Tips
Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers (Sunday 8.35am)
The Vikings captured a fanastic upset win in New Orleans in the first round of the playoffs. Led by star running back Dalvin Cook, who racked up 94 rushing yards and two touchdowns, the Vikings claimed a six point win on the road to end the Saints season in thrilling fashion once again.
The 49ers will have the advantage of the week off and the home field when the two sides meet, but their end to the regular season was all but flattering considering they are the No.1 seed in the conference. Their defence in particular was a little concerning, as they allowed 31.75 points per game over their last four.
Teams were able to move the ball confidently against the 49ers defence in the back half of the season and although they have had the week off to prepare for the Dalvin Cook led run game, the 7 point line still seems a little high here for San Francisco, who have failed to cover in two of their last three.
Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens (Sunday 12.15pm AEDT)
The Titans shocked the football world with a fanastic win over the Patriots in New England in the Wildcard Round. Lead by star running back and regular season rushing leader Derrick Henry, who put up monster numbers of 204 all purpose yards and a touchdown, the Titans were able to move the ball easily on the Patriots, who have had the best defence in the league throughout the regular season.
Tennessee will likely need to put up more points to stay competitive in this game, however, as they face off against Baltimore, who were the highest scoring team in the NFL through the regular season, averaging 33.2 points per game. Quarterback Lamar Jackson has the NFL MVP award sewn up and has revolutionised the position this season with his ability to rush out of the backfield.
The Ravens start as 9.5 point favourites here, which seems about right given they have had the week to prepare, will have the home field advantage and the slugfest that the Titans had to endure last week. Both teams will likely play a pretty run heavy offence here, which should speed up the game and keep the score pretty low. Like the look of the Titans with the points.
Houston Texans at Kansas City Chiefs (Monday 7.05am AEDT)
The Texans just managed to scrap past a Buffalo Bills team that looked like they had no interest in winning the game last week. We weren’t impressed by either team in that matchup, and Houston were lucky they have one of the best quarterbacks in the league, who dug them out of a hole late in the game to score the go ahead touchdown.
The Chiefs were a little shaky through the middle portion of the season but finished with a flurry, winning their last six on the trot and covering the spread in five of those games with the sixth being a push. Their offence on the back of star QB Patrick Mahomes averaged just over 27 points per game during that six game period.
We have absolutely no qualms picking Kansas City to record a big win here. Houston were the better of two bad teams last week and should be taught a lesson by an in-form Chiefs side in Kansas City.
Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers (Monday 10.40am AEDT)
Two of the most exciting quarterbacks in the game go at it on Monday morning as Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers host the Russel Wilson lead Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks defeated Philadelphia on the road to earn a spot in the divisional round as Wilson passed for 325 yards and a touchdown in the win.
They’ll start as slight 4.5 point underdogs on the road, which is interesting given the Packers had a sneaky great finish to the season. Green Bay won their last five games in a row by an average margin of 7.4 points. While Rodgers wasn’t exactly his dominant self over this stretch, the Green Bay defence has been elite.
The Packers allowed just 14.2 points over their last five games and finished the season in ninth place for points allowed per game. We see this game going very similar to their matchup with the Eagles, low scoring with either team winning by single digits.
