It’s Wild Card weekend, and here at Cappers Mall, we are taking a close look at the four games that are on the docket and what bettors should know about the biggest games on the slate for the first weekend of the postseason.
Things will start this weekend with the clash between the Houston Texans and the Cincinnati Bengals. This is definitely a strange matchup to say the least. No one figured that the Bengals would be in the playoffs this year, while the Texans have made their way to the postseason for the first time in team history. It is also going to be the first time in which Houston will play a game on NBC, making it the last of the 32 teams to make their debut on the newest NFL network.
One rookie quarterback is going to lead their team into the divisional round of the playoffs, as both QBs Andy Dalton and TJ Yates have a ton of pressure on them to succeed. Houston will rely on its second ranked defense to get the job done, along with a rushing game that got almost 2,200 yards on the ground out of the combination of RBs Ben Tate and Arian Foster.
The Texans beat two playoff teams this year, including knocking off these Bengals four weeks ago in the win that put them in the playoffs. Since that point, Houston hasn’t won a game.
Cincinnati had an interesting season from the standpoint that it went 0-7 against playoff teams and 9-0 against non-playoff team. It has been 21 years since the Bengals won a playoff game. Ironically, that win came against Houston… but the team was the Oilers, not the Texans. Interestingly enough, a year later, the Oilers won a game in the playoffs, marking the last time that the city of Houston won an NFL playoff game.
Houston is favored by a field goal, while the ‘total’ is set at 38.5 at Bovada.lv. If the Texans win, they will face the Baltimore Ravens next week, while a Bengals win sends them to Foxboro to face the New England Patriots.
In the other AFC game, the Denver Broncos will take on the Pittsburgh Steelers. These two teams met on Sunday afternoon in the final of the playoff games in Round 1. Pittsburgh has a very rich playoff history, including winning a ton of games on the road. Denver hasn’t had any luck whatsoever since QB John Elway retired.
The Broncos do have some hope though, as the last two teams that were .500 or worse that got into the playoffs, the Seattle Seahawks last year and the San Diego Chargers a few seasons back, both won their opening playoff games. If they are going to do so though, they’re going to need this rushing game to overpower one of the best rush defenses in the game. QB Tim Tebow is going to need to put the ball in the air as well, something that hasn’t been easy for him all season long.
The Steelers are going to be without RB Rashard Mendenhall, who tore his ACL in last week’s win over the Cleveland Browns.
Pittsburgh is still favored by a whopping nine points, while the ‘total’ is the lowest of the weekend at just 34.5. The winner of this game will face the Patriots if the Texans win and the Ravens if the Bengals win on Saturday.
The Detroit Lions haven’t been to the playoffs since 1999, and they haven’t won a playoff game since 1991 when RB Barry Sanders was the star of the show. They certainly don’t have a great shot of getting out of the first round when they take on the New Orleans Saints, whom many think is the sneakiest play in the NFC to win the Super Bowl this year.
The points could be flying on the board in this game. There are a slew of offensive stars. QB Drew Brees broke the record for the most passing yards in a season, and QB Matt Stafford also finished the season with over 5,000 passing yards. This will be the first time that a pair of 5,000+ yard quarterbacks meet in the same game against one another. WR Calvin Johnson led the league in receiving yards, while TE Jimmy Graham finished just short of the record for the most receiving yards by a tight end in league history.
These two teams met a month ago in a game in which the Saints proved to be victorious. This is a team that has a Super Bowl title from just two years ago to its credit, but it definitely has a lot to prove after losing last year in the first round of the playoffs against the lowly Seahawks at Qwest Field.
Detroit is getting 10.5 points by the oddsmakers, while the ‘total’ is one of the highest in NFL playoff history at 58.5.
A New Orleans win sets up a highly anticipated showdown with the San Francisco 49ers next week, while the Lions would have to visit Lambeau Field for a third game against the Green Bay Packers with a victory.
Both the New York Giants and Atlanta Falcons are big time Lions fans, as they will get to avoid Green Bay and play against San Francisco instead in the second round of the playoffs. That being said, there is definitely some unfinished business for both, as this should be a very tough game to try to handicap.
This is the third time that the Falcons have made the playoffs with QB Matt Ryan calling the shots, but he hasn’t won a game yet in his first two tries. The last Atlanta playoff victory came in 2004.
These two quarterbacks didn’t quite combine for the numbers of Brees and Stafford, but they threw for over 9,000 yards between them and feature a whopping five receivers in the Top 35 in receiving yards this year. WRs Julio Jones and Victor Cruz were both in the Top 5 in terms of yards per catch this year.
The Giants are favored by a field goal, while the ‘total’ comes in at 47, dropping from the 49 earlier in the week.
