We have a four-fold for Wild Card weekend with some more surprised in store in what has been a season full of them so far.
It’s Wild Card weekend in the NFL in what has been a surprising season so far, with four intriguing contests taking place to determine who progresses to the Divisional Round.
The NFC champions in the last three seasons combined go head to head as the Philadelphia Eagles entertain the San Francisco 49ers in what could be seen as the tie of the round, although there is plenty of intrigue across the six games.
Here are our four best bets for the action.
Wild Card Weekend four-fold
- Carolina Panthers +10.5 @ 10/11
- Over 45.5 points in Green Bay Packers at Chicago Bears @ 20/23
- Pittsburgh Steelers +2.5 @ 21/20
- Over 51.5 points in Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars @ 10/11
Home field advantage gives Panthers a chance
The opening contest of Wild Card weekend is being viewed as something of a mis-match when the LA Rams head for the Bank of America Stadium, but this might not be as straightforward as the odds suggest.
Firstly, the Panthers have home-field advantage and over the past four seasons, home teams have gone 18-6.
Dave Canales’ men beat the Rams 31-28 in the regular season, the Panthers also got the better of the Buccaneers, Falcons, Dolphins and Cowboys in the NFC, and those results suggest that Carolina shouldn’t be so easily dismissed.
There is good news for the Panthers with guard Robert Hunt returning from injury, and while the Rams will offer a stern challenge, there is potential for Canales’ side to be more than competitive against the Los Angeles outfit.
If the Panthers can carry the game to the Rams, who were only 5-4 on the road in the regular season, then they should stay within the 10.5 handicap.
Shootout on the cards at Soldier Field
The Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears meet for the third time this season and there should be plenty of points on the board at Soldier Field.
The two regular season contests saw each team share a victory with scorelines of 22-16 and 28-21.
Jordan Love sat out Week 18 at Minnesota, but the Packers quarterback returns to the roster in Chicago to bolster their offence and the points line went over in six of Green Bay’s opening seven road games of the season.
Chicago’s offence can be fancied to rack up the points as they rank ninth in the NFL with an average of 25.9 points per game, but the defence has issues.
The Bears are the best team in the NFL at forcing turnovers, but they rank only 27th in points allowed per possession when they don’t force a turnover, and the Packers offence could be handed plenty of opportunities if the home defence is not quite on song.
Big-game Steelers can end Houston hot streak
The Houton Texans ended the regular season by winning nine straight matches and arrive in the play-offs as the NFL’s hottest side.
However, the Texans offence is averaging 23.8 points per game to rank only 13th best in the NFL and Houston are now running into a Steelers’ defence packed full of stars.
Pittsburgh coach Mike Tomlin and quarterback Aaron Rodgers have developed a winning game plan, and with a low points expectancy, the hosts are fancied on the handicap.
The Steelers’ second-half performances against the Lions and Ravens (twice) indicate that Tomlin’s men can deliver when the chips are down and their defence can produce another match-winning display.
Defences to struggle in Jacksonville
The Buffalo Bills and Jacksonville Jaguars could easily deliver the most entertaining contest of the weekend.
Buffalo are averaging 28.3 points per game this season and their 2,714 rushing yards are more than any other side in the NFL.
At the same time, the Jags have quarterback Trevor Lawrence in the best form of his career, throwing for 4,006 yards and 29 touchdowns and Jacksonville have been excellent in the second half of the season.
Of course, the pressure is on in the play-offs, but there still looks to be some value in taking over 51.5 points at EverBank Stadium, particularly with both defences having struggled this season.
