NFL Parlay of the Week
The NFL regular season is in the books so it is now time to turn my attention to the Super Bowl XLVIII Derby and in particular this weekend’s Wildcard Round of the NFL Playoffs.
I dug deep into the numbers for all four matchups on the slate to uncover a pair of gems that come together perfectly for this week’s parlay based on lines provided by [dfads params=’groups=63740&limit=1&return_javascript=0′].
Game 1: New Orleans Saints vs. Philadelphia Eagles
Pointspread: Philadelphia -2.5
Total Line: 53
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
It was a tale of two teams for New Orleans this season en route to an 11-5 straight-up record. It remained perfect at home with an 8-0 SU run that included an extremely profitable 7-0-1 record against the spread. The road was a whole other story with a 3-5 SU record in eight games and a costly 1-7 mark against the spread.
The most glaring difference was the Saints ability to score points. They averaged 34 points a game at home, but this number was basically cut in half on the road (17.8).
New Orleans only managed to score a combined 36 points in its last three road games.
Chip Kelly’s up tempo, high-octane offense hit some bumps in the road earlier in the season, but heading into this matchup, this unit is ranked second in the NFL in total yards (417.2) and first in rushing yards (160.4), which could be a huge factor in keeping Drew Brees and Co. on the sidelines for as long as possible.
Another factor will be a bend but do not break Eagles’ defense that has held teams to 22 points or less in 11 of its last 12 games.
I really love the UNDER in this matchup which could be the front end of a separate parlay just for this game as Philly covers the 2.5 points at home.
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Game 2: San Diego Chargers vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Pointspread: Cincinnati -7
Total Line: 47
ATS Matchup Stats | NFL Gambling Insight!
San Diego comes into this wildcard matchup as the No. 6 seed in the AFC. It is also a charmed team with some solid momentum after winning its last four games and getting some help in Week 17 to clinch a spot with an overall record of 9-7.
The Chargers’ defense is ranked 11th in the NFL in points allowed (21.8) but it is ranked 29th against the pass.
This means that Philip Rivers is going to have to have a big day throwing the ball himself to get out of Cincinnati with a win. This is made a bit more difficult with a warm weather team playing in a very cold environment.
The Bengals beat San Diego 17-10 in Week 13 as 2.5-point favorites on the road and they have the Chargers just where they want them for this contest. Cincinnati went 11-5 SU overall with a healthy 10-5-1 record ATS, but it really dialed things up at Paul Brown Stadium this season with a perfect 8-0 record both SU and ATS.
During this run, the Bengals averaged 34.4 points a game while winning the eight games by and average margin of 17.6 points.
Look for this trend to continue this Sunday afternoon with a Cincinnati victory that covers the seven points.
