Six imposters are out of the National Football League playoffs, and eight are still alive for another week.
Welcome to the NFL Divisional Round!
The two teams that got byes as top seeds enter here, with both Tennessee and Green Bay coming into this round rested and raring to go.
But only one of those teams is the favorite to win their conference championship (and the Super Bowl), and that team is led by the soon to be two-time reigning MVP of the NFL: Aaron Rodgers and the Packers.
Tennessee is the third choice right now to win the AFC, behind the Buffalo Bills and the Kansas City Chiefs, one of which will not EVEN BE IN the AFC Championship Game next weekend. Do you think that is motivational material for the Titans? Is there some kind of betting story hung up in the locker room right now?
It might not be mine, where I talk about Mike Vrabel as the NFL Coach of the Year. But I have been on the Chiefs for a while now, so maybe there is something of mine up on the bulletin board (do they even call it that now? Do teams even have them?)
I always think this is the best weekend of the playoffs for fans. For bettors, this is where it starts to get much tougher.
If you look at the games from Wild Card Weekend, you will see a Philadelphia team that went 9-8, with eight of its wins against teams picking 11th or higher in the upcoming NFL Draft. You had a Dallas team that won the NFC East by default, playing against a team from the best division in football (NFC West) You had a Pittsburgh team that somehow found its way into the playoffs–well, the somehow is that the Colts, Ravens, Browns, Chargers, and the rest of the contenders were all WORSE and did not deserve to be in the postseason–and had just lost 36-10 to the Chiefs THREE WEEKS AGO. Las Vegas won four games down the stretch by 12 points to get in, and the Patriots need Mac Jones to get a little more experience (plus, beating the Bills 14-10 in the infamous three-throw game probably just pissed off Buffalo).
You had a 12+ point line that was never in doubt, and two other games that were six or more points in a team’s favor.
That is not going to happen here this weekend. The Bills Chiefs contest is going to be a field goal line, the Tennessee Cincinnati one might be similar, and the Bucs Rams is the samet there is not going to be a 10+ point spread anymore in the postseason.
You can make the case that seven of the top eight teams in the NFL are left, and I would argue that it might be all eight: what would any of the NFC West teams finish if they were in the NFC East?
So now, more than ever, it is important to go with the advice of people that know what they are talking about with the NFL.
And there is NOBODY on the planet hotter right now than Darryl Fein and I.
So take a look at the plays here, read the other stories, and watch the How to Bet podcasts this week.
It might just win you a lot more money!
NFL Wild Card Weekend Odds
Here are your updated NFL Wild Card Weekend Odds, all in one place. Check back daily to see updates.