Divisional Dogs; Who Can Pull It Off?
Wildcard Weekend has come and gone, and we’re one week closer to crowning a new champion. The Divisional Round offers a slate of games with some interesting decisions for bettors.
Can the Jags somehow take out the Chiefs? Will Joe Burrow be able to knock off the Bills? And how ‘bout them Cowboys? Let’s take a closer look at these divisional dogs.
AFC Divisional Dogs
The Jacksonville Jaguars are fresh off a wild Wildcard comeback against the Chargers. Trever Lawrence threw an astonishing 4 picks in the first half, before casually coming back from down 27-0 and hitting up a Waffle House after the game. This is the kind of energy it’s going to take to beat the Super Bowl favorites. Is it going to happen? Probably not.
It doesn’t take a great football mind to realize that the Chiefs have a large edge in this game. However, Jacksonville has clearly proved itself a pesky team, and the 8.5-point spread may be a tad high. Take the points.
The Bengals and Bills is a matchup that Football fans have been waiting for since well before Damar Hamlin tragically collapsed on Monday Night Football. Lost amidst the terrifying nature of that ordeal is the fact that the Bengals were winning the football game. Granted, it was only the first quarter.
The Bills didn’t look like the powerhouse team they were last week, as they nearly lost to a third-string rookie QB. Their defense is clearly missing future HOFer Von Miller. However, Josh Allen knows as well as the rest of us that we deserve a Bills-Cheifs AFC Championship matchup. Expect this one to go over the 49.5-point total, with Buffalo ultimately closing it out.
NFC Divisional Dogs
The Cowboys made a mockery of Tom Brady in what may have been the final game of his storied career. This week they’ll play the Niners, a team that beat up Seattle last week. While it was a dominant victory, the Seahawks really didn’t deserve to be in the playoffs and were probably the easiest team to beat coming in. Not to discredit the success of San Fran, but the Cowboy’s victory was far more impressive, (aside from the 4 missed extra points).
Vegas has this, rightfully, as a closer contest. I don’t think it’s unreasonable to take the Cowboys here. The Niners may have a false sense of confidence after destroying the Seahawks, while Dallas held one of the greatest QBs to ever play to a goose egg in the first half. Take the 3.5 points, and strongly consider the Moneyline.
Here’s the kicker; the New York Football Giants can beat the Philadelphia Eagles.
Hear me out.
Daniel Jones showed last week that he is on the cusp of being an elite quarterback, throwing for 301 yards with 2 TDs and no interceptions. The Eagles are obviously a great team, but they have not been battle-tested. The Giants held them to 22 points in their last meeting, on the season they average 28.
It is obviously a gamble, Philly got the bye week for a reason. But if you wanted to take a big underdog, New York is a much better bet than Jacksonville. If you don’t think there’s any way the Eagles lose this one, the 7.5-point spread is still appetizing.
There you have it! Whatever happens, divisional weekend is sure to be exciting as we inch closer and closer to destiny in Arizona.
