NFL DIVISIONAL ROUND BETTING
Here are NFL Divisional Round betting previews for each contest.
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs
The Jaguars authored the third-largest comeback in playoff history Saturday night, erasing a 27-0 halftime deficit to escape with a 31-30 win over the Los Angeles Chargers. Trevor Lawrence overcame four first-half interceptions with four second-half touchdown tosses.
Travis Etienne added 109 rushing yards, with head coach Doug Pederson impressively sticking with a balanced attack despite a massive deficit. Jacksonville now turns its attention to the well-rested Chiefs and a rematch of a Week 10 battle that ironically may have given Jacksonville the confidence it needed to go on its memorable stretch run of victories that paved the way to the postseason.
The Jags came up short at Arrowhead Stadium that day by a 27-17 margin, but Lawrence held his own with 259 passing yards and two touchdowns – along with 26 yards on four rushes – despite taking five sacks. Jacksonville will hope the massive momentum it built up in the second half on both sides of the ball against the Bolts carries over into one of the toughest road environments in the NFL.
KC unsurprisingly opened as a -9 home favorite for this contest.
New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles
The Giants went into Minnesota on Sunday afternoon and knocked off the No. 3-seeded Vikings, 31-24, with an impressive combination of sharp all-around play from Daniel Jones and a highly effective defensive gameplan aimed at taking away the Vikings’ top weapon, in Justin Jefferson.
Jones was unflappable in his first postseason start while accumulating 379 total yards and two touchdowns. His usage and play even overshadowed that of Saquon Barkley, who did record 109 total yards and two rushing TDs, but only logged nine rush attempts to Jones’ 17.
The ability to go into enemy territory and succeed in his first playoff try should be integral to Jones’ mental preparation for this assignment, which is exponentially more difficult given the caliber of the Eagles’ defense and Philadelphia’s one-week rest advantage.
Additionally, the fact that Philly steamrolled New York by a 48-22 score back in Week 14 at MetLife Stadium will undoubtedly be a challenge for the G-Men to get out of their collective minds.
The Eagles were unsurprisingly installed as robust 7.5-to 8.5-point home favorite with a total of 45.5 points, initially.
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
The Bengals had to figure it wouldn’t be easy going up against a division rival for the second consecutive week and third time overall, but Cincy had just enough to get past the Baltimore Ravens, 24-17, on Sunday night.
Earlier in the day, the Bills had their own dogfight with a division mate in the Dolphins, which, despite starting seventh-round rookie Skylar Thompson at quarterback, gave Buffalo all it could handle before succumbing by a 34-31 score.
The lead-up to this game will naturally carry no shortage of anticipation and intrigue, considering the Week 17 contest between the teams was ultimately cancelled due to Damar Hamlin’s cardiac crisis in the first quarter.
The Bengals had moved the ball well on the Bills before the stoppage and had the lead, something that head coach Zac Taylor figures to remind his players of ahead of this rematch. Additionally, Miami put plenty on tape Sunday for Cincinnati to digest, especially defensively, as the Dolphins recorded seven sacks and two interceptions of Josh Allen.
The Bills opened as narrow 3.5-point home favorites, arguably a nod to their struggles protecting Allen on Sunday and the Bengals looking like another potentially thorny matchup based on what they showed over Week 17’s modest sample.
Dallas Cowboys at San Francisco 49ers
The Cowboys impressively dismantled Tom Brady and the Buccaneers on Monday night, posting a 31-14 win in their Wild Card clash that was fueled by Dak Prescott’s 5-touchdown performance. The 49ers got quite a fight from the Seahawks for a half-plus Saturday afternoon before roaring back to a 41-23 win that saw rookie quarterback Brock Purdy’s legend grow.
The two teams naturally have significant postseason history, and while the Niners will enjoy both a homefield and rest advantage, a confident Prescott and his talented air attack gives Dallas its own edge against a San Francisco secondary that proved vulnerable at times versus Seattle. San Francisco gave up 253 passing yards and two touchdowns to Geno Smith in the wild-card win over Seattle, and 241.4 per home contest, the fifth highest in that split, during the regular season.
However, the Cowboys will have their own challenge against Purdy and his healthy array of weapons, which were on full display versus a Seahawks defense that has been especially improved against the pass down the stretch. Deebo Samuel looked back to full health while racking up 133 receiving yards and a touchdown and adding another 32 on three carries in the wild-card victory while Christian McCaffrey totaled 136 yards and a receiving touchdown.
In the immediate aftermath of the Cowboys’ Monday night win, the Niners were relatively modest -4 home favorites.
