The NFL Wildcard weekend is here and you need to start by reading through our expert NFL betting picks for the playoff round. We’ve analyzed all six games and picked out three bets most worth putting money on. Keep reading to get our expert advice — free of cost!
Moneyline: Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs
We begin with two teams that had Super Bowl expectations at mid-season, but now are being written off by most bettors, fans, and media pundits alike. We’re most interested in betting the Kansas City-Miami moneyline. Here’s how the best NFL betting sites have it pegged:
Both teams are badly — and we mean badly — banged up. The Dolphins are more so with 19 players on the injury report. The unit most affected is at linebacker. Miami will be without its four penciled-in starters — Jerome Baker, Bradley Chubb, Jaelan Phillips, and Andrew Van Ginkel. Hell, even Van Ginkel’s backup, Cameron Goode, is out. This leaves the Phins especially vulnerable at pass rush.
The injuries could help alleviate one of Kansas City’s biggest weaknesses: protecting Patrick Mahomes. The Chiefs’ once-feared offense has been anything but this season due to shoddy offensive line play and subpar wide receivers. The frustration is evident in Mahomes this season. Still, KC are the Super Bowl champions and they’re expected to win this game.
It’s these expectations that actually make us want to choose Miami. Yes, it’s true the Dolphins do crack under pressure — hence how they blew a three-game divisional lead in the last month. But that’s the thing, there’s no pressure on them this week. They can play loose with a screw-it mentality. The Dolphins offense is still dangerous, unlike the Chiefs, so we think the upset is a worthwhile play, especially at these favorable odds.
Against The Spread: Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys
Oh, boy, this game is going to draw a lot of attention due to the brands of both teams playing. That creates intriguing betting opportunities which is why we’re taking the Packers and Cowboys spread. Here’s how it’s currently pegged:
We’ll be honest, that spread feels a tad too high. At 7.5 points, it’s the second-highest of the weekend. Do we really trust Dallas to win that comfortably — a team that’s notorious for coming up short in these big moments? We don’t, which is why Green Bay is getting our money here.
The 12-5 Cowboys are good, but not great. It’s the reason they are 2-4 against teams with a winning record this season (and one of those wins, against Detroit, was highway robbery by the referees). In the Packers, they’re getting a team riding high. They were 3-6 to start the season but went 6-2 to finish the year. What’s the saying, “getting hot at the right time?” That’s Green Bay, which is why we’re confident they can at least keep the game close.
Over/Under 44 Points: Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers
This playoff game goes down on Monday Night. No one is really high on either team — a 9-8 Tampa team that won the worst division in football and a Philadelphia side that’s lost five of the last six. We’re not even sure who’ll win this matchup, but we do have a better idea on the Eagles-Bucs over/under, which is as follows:
There’s something seriously wrong going on with the Eagles. First off, its defense can’t stop a nosebleed. The Giants just put up 24 points on their starters in a single half. Who would’ve thought choosing Matt Patricia to call plays a few weeks ago wouldn’t have worked? Answer: everybody. Philly also suffered injuries to quarterback Jalen Hurts (finger on throwing hand) and star receiver AJ Brown (knee) in that season finale. All this is to say Philly is the coldest team in the postseason field.
At the same time, Tampa Bay isn’t exactly trending in the right direction, particularly on offense. The Bucs have scored a combined 22 points in the past two weeks. Worse, this game is against bottom-feeding teams like the Panthers and Saints. Here too, quarterback Baker Mayfield is far from healthy. A rib injury might explain Tampa’s lackluster scoring punch.
While Philly’s defense is bad, they might even be able to contain this Bus offense. We expect. bowling-shoe ugly affair on Monday with points being hard to come by. Take the under in that case.
How To Bet On NFL Playoffs?
For a one-stop shop to betting on the NFL playoffs, we recommend one of the bookies below. Per our latest sportsbook reviews, these are the “best of the best” the industry has to offer. Any one of them will offer the full gamut of odds on this round, plus the others in the playoffs. In other words, they got you covered all the way through the Super Bowl.
Best of all, there are even big-money sign-up bonuses at play. Using these deals, you could bet on the NFL playoffs for free. That’s because offers are giving out hundreds to thousands of dollars in free play. See the table underneath for a list of our favorite offers.
