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Wild Card Playoff Betting: Atlanta Falcons vs. New York Giants Odds, Prediction, and Pick

Atlanta Falcons

Wild Card weekend kicks off at the regular Sunday football time, with the first game kicking off at 1:00pm EST.  This match-up will feature two of the top teams from the NFC this season, in the Atlanta Falcons who clinched their Wild Card spot with two weeks remaining in the season, and the New York Giants who got in by knocking off the rival Dallas Cowboys in their final regular season game.  This game will be played in Giant stadium, even though the Falcons ended up with a better record, because the Giants won the NFC East, while the Falcons were second behind the Saints in the NFC South.  The game definitely has the potential to be one of the most exciting games of the weekend, as both of these teams have powerful offenses, but defenses that have shown weaknesses at times.

Let’s start with the NFC East Champion New York Giants.  The G-Men have shown that their offense can be incredibly strong at times, especially their passing game.  The issue of course is their pass defense, which has struggled quite a bit at times.  This team will need a strong game from Eli Manning and wide outs Victor Cruz and Hakeem Nicks in order to to put up some big points.  The Giants finished the season at 9-7, and looked very solid in their final two regular season games against two big rivals in the New York Jets and Dallas Cowboys, if they can keep that play going, they’ll be a tough out in these playoffs.

The Atlanta Falcons on the other hand have one of the strongest combos of quarterback and wide receiver, with Matt Ryan, Roddy White, and Julio Jones.  Throw running back Michael Turner and tight end Tony Gonzalez on top, and this team gives defenses some serious problems.  The Falcons finished the year at 10-6, and you can bet that they’ll be prepared for this round one playoff match-up against the Giants.  They were sent packing in the first round last season to the eventual Super Bowl Champion Green Bay Packers, and this team doesn’t want that to happen in back to back seasons.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

Atlanta Falcons: +3

New York Giants: -3

Free Prediction

The G-Men are getting the edge because they are the home team this weekend, but don’t sleep on this Falcons team.  After week three, the Falcons only losses came to teams who are in the playoffs, and are top four seeds as well.  I think that the Falcons offense is going come out in a big way against this Giants team, and while it will be a close one, they will get the job done by a field goal on the road.  This is the year that Matt Ryan proves he belongs with the big names in the NFL.

Prediction: Atlanta Falcons- 27 New York Giants- 24

Free Pick

I was a bit surprised to see the Giants favored by three here.  I wouldn’t have been surprised to see them by -1, or even -2, but many people feel that this could be a push for the home team.  Personally though, I think that the Falcons are flying under the radar, and are going to surprise quite a few people this postseason.  I’m picking the Atlanta Falcons to cover the +3, and I’ll also be putting a bet down on them to win outright.

Pick:  Atlanta Falcons +3

BONUS Pick:  Atlanta Falcons STRAIGHT at +130

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Wild Card Playoff Betting: Detroit Lions at New Orleans Saints Odds, Prediction, and Pick

Detroit Lions

You have to love opening weekend of the NFL Playoffs.  What’s even better about the Wild Card playoffs this season, is that we get to open up the night cap game on Saturday with probably one of the best games of the weekends.  The Detroit Lions pulled off a shockingly impressive season, and head into the playoffs as the number 6 seed overall, but get to play one of the toughest teams in the NFL in week one.  They are up against a New Orleans Saints team who has shown quite a knack for putting up impressive performances on prime time television.  So what does a game between two high scoring teams like this mean?  It means that we could be looking at a shootout, and one exciting Saturday night football game here.

The New Orleans Saints finished the season with an incredibly impressive 13-3 record, which typically would be good to lock up at least a top two seed, but they were stuck in an NFC that has the 15-1 Green Bay Packers, and another surprising team in the 13-3 San Francisco 49ers.  The Saints have a record breaking quarterback in Drew Brees, and a team who knows how to win Super Bowls as we saw just a few years back.

Now for that Detroit Lions team.  It seems like it was just yesterday that this team was going through that incredibly tough 0-16 season.  They’ve come a long way since then, and it is in large part due to the combination of Matt Stafford, Calvin Johnson, and head coach Jim Schwartz.  The Lions know how to put points on the board, and their defense has been solid this season as well.  If the Lions are able to knock off the Saints this weekend, you can bet that they could cause some serious issues for any teams on the remainder of a potential Super Bowl run.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

Detroit Lions: +11

New Orleans Saints: -11

Free Prediction

I’m excited about this game.  It’s going to be a shootout, and I expect Stafford to do his best to keep pace with Brees and the Saints.  The Lions didn’t get to 10-6 and make the playoffs just to get sent home in the first round without putting up and type of a fight.  While I do think that the end result of this game will be close, I think that the Saints are going to win it because of the home field advantage and the experience.  I’ll take Drew Brees and his powerful offense to win it by ten here.

Prediction:  New Orleans Saints- 45 Detroit Lions- 35

Free Pick

This line started off a bit lower, and I’m shocked that it’s moving up so quickly.  The Lions are a strong team, and they look determined to make some noise in these playoffs.  I think that they won’t be able to knock off the Saints on the road, but that they will be able to cover this big spread.  I’m picking the Detroit Lions to cover the +11 here.

Pick:  Detroit Lions +11

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Week 17 Betting: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Denver Broncos Odds, Prediction, and Pick

Denver Broncos

Here we have one of the biggest match-ups of the weekend, and it’s definitely one that will draw an incredible amount of attention from NFL fans across the country.  The reason for this?  Try Mr. Tim Tebow.  Tebow has led his Denver Broncos team to the point where they are one win away from winning the NFC West and heading into the playoffs.  The Broncos have a tough task in front of them though, as they are coming off of a painful loss to the Buffalo Bills, and now get to take on one of their divisional rivals in the Kansas City Chiefs.  The Chiefs lost a tough game to the Raiders last weekend, and the loss actually kept them out of the playoffs so they could potentially be playing on quite a bit of emotion right now heading into this game.

The Chiefs have pretty much a depleted roster to this point in the season, as they lost quarterback Matt Cassel, running back Jamaal Charles, tight end Tony Moeaki, and safety Eric Berry all to injuries at some point during this season.  They’ve been impressive in coming back from all of the injuries, but just missed the playoffs into the end.  They also ended up firing their head coach Todd Haley this season, and will be looking for a new one when the postseason comes around.

Now for the Broncos.  What can you say about this team?  At one point when Tebow took over they went on to win six games in a row, but have now lost two games straight with the playoffs directly in front of them.  Can Tebow and the Broncos defense turn it around in time to be able to save their playoff hopes?  Or will they end up giving the division to the Raiders potentially?

This game kicks off at 4:15pm EST, and fortunately for the Broncos, they’ll be the home team in this one.

Odds and Sports Betting Line

Kansas City Chiefs: +3

Denver Broncos: -3

Free Prediction

I know that the Broncos haven’t looked solid the past two games, but Tim Tebow is a gamer.  He’ll be ready for this match-up, and the Broncos will show up in a big way.  Denver gets to be at home as well, and their home field advantage could make a huge difference in this game.  I’m also looking for Willis McGahee to have a big game as well, and the Broncos to get some hype behind their team again heading into the playoffs.  I’ll take Denver to win this one by a touchdown.

Prediction:  Denver Broncos- 21 Kansas City Chiefs- 14

Free Pick

Picking these games with the lines of -3 for the team who must win can be incredibly tough, but this team needs to prove that they are legit.  On top of that, their quarterback still has quite a bit to prove, and pulling off a win to get his team into the playoffs would be a great place to start.  I’m going to be picking the Denver Broncos to get the cover here.

Pick:  Denver Broncos -3

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