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NFL Wildcard Betting Odds

Matt Martz weighs in with a NFL Playoff Preview for the 2010 NFL playoffs, and NFL predictions, plus a look at the early Wild card NFL odds, and betting spreads…

NFL Week Wild Card Preview

Are you ready for playoff football? Eight teams will start the 2010 playoff schedule this weekend with four wild card battles, three of which are rematches of Week 17 games. Here is a short rundown on each game along with my predictions to help you make your wagers winners.

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Lot’s of football this week, so lets get started.

Saturday, January 9 – 4:30 pm – New York Jets (9-7) @ Cincinnati Bengals (10-6)
Line: Cincinnati –2 ½ (Total 34 ½)

New York won five of its last six games to reach the playoffs for the first time since being a wild card contender in 2006, while the Bengals dropped three of their last four and are back in the postseason for the first time since 2005.

Albeit that these teams made it to Saturday’s wild card contest by different routes, when you look at this match up closely, you may see some similarities between them. Both teams have a top 10 rushing offense and defensively rank first and fourth repectively.

The big question looming over this week’s contest comes on the heels of last week’s 37-0 pounding of the AFC North champs that not only earned the Jets a playoff berth, but quite possibly some new found respect. The Bengals poor outing against New York has drawn some concern from Cincinnati fans and odds makers alike. Can you blame them? It was the worst drubbing the Bengals took all season. One can only speculate that the awful performance that Cincinnati put on was likely due to not wanting to show their hand, or hoping to prevent any major injuries while allowing a few key players some much needed rest.

Players like Cerdic Benson–one of the Bengals best offensive weapons, along with key defensive players Domato Peko, Robert Geathers and safety Chris Crocker all of which are due to return in time for Saturday’s game.

So what will be the key ingredient for success? Well scoring more points than the other team, and in the Bengals case – just get back to soring points. Cincinnati will need to focus on stopping the run in this one, forcing Jets rookie quarterback Mark Sanchez who has thrown 20 interceptions—second most in the league— to beat them in a playoff game on the road. The Jets will need to gain yards on first and second down to make third down conversions more manageable against a tenicious Bengals defensive line.

I expect Cincinnati to make a 180 degree change and edge out the Jets by a field goal in this one.

Saturday, January 9 – 8:30 pm – Philadelphia Eagles (11-5) @ Dallas Cowboys (11-5)
Line: Dallas -4 (Total 45)

Fans can prepare themselves for a showdown, as these two division rivals will meet for the second time in seven days. The Cowboys avoided their December demons going 2-2 including last weeks 24-0 win over Philadelphia, sweeping the regular-season series and clinching the NFC East title. Dallas will look to end their 13-year playoff victory drought, while the Eagles return to the postseason for the seventh time in that span, reaching five NFC title games including last year’s run.

Fireworks are sure to fly as these two teams clash for the fourth time in the postseason. Philadelphia won the NFC title game in 1981, while Dallas won divisional-round match ups in 1993 and 1996.

Last week’s shutout was the worst showing for the Eagles all season. Dallas snapped their six-game win streak by holding Philadelphia to a season-low 228 yards. The Cowboys defense played well sacking Eagles quarterback Donovan McNabb four times and shutting down his receiving corp, including Pro Bowl wide receiver DeSean Jackson who had just one catch for 32 yards. Dallas also did good job defending against the run, giving up just 37 yards on ten attempts.

This time the Eagles will need to move the ball more effectively on the ground. If they cannot they will make themselves one-dimensional again and the Cowboys defense will have a heyday with McNabb. The Cowboys will need a repeat of the season’s prior two performances against the Eagles which included sustaining long drives and converting the all-important third downs. They were just 5-13 on third down conversions last week, so that will need to improve. Defensively the Eagles will need to shut down Cowboys quarterback Tony Romo was solid outing in his last outing, shredding the Eagles zone defense for 311 passing yards and two touchdowns.

There is no doubt that this game will be closer than the previous two season match ups with more on the line. The Eagles will come out throwing everything at Dallas on both sides of the ball. The Cowboys will take a while to get adjusted, but once they do, they won’t have a problem moving the ball down the field. It will be a seesaw battle in the first half but in the later stages of the game the Cowboys will take over with their running attack as the Eagles fall behind forcing McNabb to be pressured to get his team back in the game in the final quarter.

I look for Dallas to win this one, 27-21.

Sunday, January 10 – 1pm – Baltimore Ravens (9-7) @ New England Patriots (10-6)
Line: New England -3 (Total 43)

The Ravens clawed their way into the playoffs in the closing weeks of the regular season by winning three out of their last four games. After a pedestrian 3-2 start, New England was able to pull things together down the stretch winning three of four to capture the AFC East, something that most had figured the heavily favored Patriots would have accomplished much earlier on in the season.

These two teams met just once early in the season with the Patriots coming away with a 27-21 win at home. New England is 5-0 all-time versus Baltimore, but this will be the teams’ first playoff meeting.

Baltimore relied heavily on their lethal rushing attack, racking up 240 yards against the Raiders in their final game of the regular season, lifting them to a 20-17 win and trip to the postseason. Meanwhile, the Patriots focus in their final contest against the Texans was to stay healthy and fell to the Texans 34-27. Unfortunately, things did not go according to plan as receiver Wes Welker went down with a season-ending knee injury early in the first quarter.

Despite this year’s the ups and downs for second-year quarterback Joe Flacco, he finished the regular season with over 3,600 passing yards and a passer rating of 88. However, it didn’t always translate to points on the scoreboard or wins. The strength of the Ravens offense has been the rushing attack led by running back Ray Rice, who finished the regular season with 1339 rushing yards on 254 carries, with 78 receptions for 702 yards. Rounding out Baltimore’s success was its defense. Giving up an average of 16.3 points and 300.5 yards per game, which was third best in the NFL.

The Patriots’ Tom Brady got off to a slow start but turned things around leading his team to six wins in their first eight games and eventually to another division title. He will miss his favorite target Wes Welker but still has deep threat wideout Randy Moss and rookie receiver Julian Edelman to play catch with.

The Pats will need to contain Rice and keep him from ripping off any big runs, forcing Flacco to throw more than the Ravens would like. Baltimore will need their running game to come up big, controlling the clock and minimizing the Patriots offensive time on the field.

Expect the Ravens to hang with the Patriots for much of the first three quarters, but eventually succumbing to a much more effective New England offense in the second half.

Sunday, January 10 – 4:40 pm – Green Bay Packers (11-5) @ Arizona Cardinals (10-6)
Line: Arizona -1 (Total 47)

The Packers may be one of the hottest teams in the NFL winning six of their last seven, and could arguably be this year’s Cinderella story. For the defending NFC champion Arizona Cardinals, it has been an up and down season to say the least, as most had predicted doom and gloom for a team that dropped two of its first three games to start the season.

Sunday’s game will mark the 73rd meeting of these two franchises, one of the oldest rivalries in the NFL beginning in 1921 when the Cardinals were in Chicago. Green Bay leads the series 45-23-4, with the teams only playoff meeting in 1982 when the Cardinals were in St. Louis. The Packers won that game a 41-16 at Green Bay.

When these two teams faced off at University of Phoenix Stadium in Week 17, both opted for a much different game plan. While Arizona decided that their starters would see limited action, Green Bay decided to go for broke playing their starters for nearly three quarters and the result was a 33-7 victory over the Cardinals. However, each team sustained injuries to key players. Green Bay’s veteran cornerback Charles Woodson left the game before halftime with a shoulder strain while the Cardinals lost star receiver Anquan Boldin, defensive end Calais Campbell and cornerback Dominique Rodgers-Cromartie. All are expected to make return for Sunday’s big game.

The Packers offense is led by second year starting quarterback Aaron Rodgers who finished the regular season with over 4,400 passing yards and 300 yards rushing, becoming the first player in NFL history to throw for 4,000 in each of his first two seasons as a starter. During their last eight contest of the season the Packers averaged almost 31 points a game while their defense surrendered an average of 14 ppg. Overall they rank sixth in total offense and second in total defense heading into Sunday’s game.

Unlike last week, the Packers will be up against Pro Bowl quarterback Kurt Warner who threw for 11 touchdowns in last year’s playoff run on the way to the Cardinals first Super Bowl. He will favor receiver Larry Fitzgerald who had seven touchdown receptions in last years postseason. Rookie running back Beanie Wells is unlikely to have much success running against the Packers so this game rests squarely on the shoulders of Warner’ ability to move the ball through the air. Defensively they will need to put pressure on Rodgers in hopes of forcing key turnovers forcing the Packers defense to play much of the game.

Green Bay has been the hotter of the two teams and should be able to snuff out anything the Cardinals can through at them offensively. Expect the Packers to win this one by a touchdown.

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Matt Martz is a sports writer for the Bakersfield Californian located in Central California. Blessed is the gambler who expects nothing, for ye shall not be disappointed.

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One reply on “NFL Wildcard Betting Odds”

The Jets and Cowboys are moving on making me 1-1 so far. Today I’m looking for the Patriots and Packers to come up big. I’m going with the under in the early game and the over in the late one.

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