The Wild Card Round is over, and we have moved from 14 teams down to 8. As you would expect from the playoffs, there were surprises along the way, perhaps none bigger than the Jacksonville Jaguars coming from 27 points down to beat the LA Chargers. The New York Giants going into Minnesota and getting the win was also a bit of a surprise, albeit to a lesser extent. The Divisional Round matchups are all set, with 4 games coming this weekend that will decide which 4 teams move into the Conference Championship Round. We are going to look at the NFL Playoffs Odds options for all 4 games, but let’s get things started with the AFC matchups.
NFL Playoffs Betting Analysis and Predictions for Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills | AFC Divisional Round 2023
Jacksonville Jaguars at Kansas City Chiefs
The action begins on Saturday with a matchup that very few would have predicted a month or so ago. The Jaguars were floundering and looked to be on the way out, but they rallied in a big way, winning 5 in a row to win the division and take the #4 seed. That was not their biggest rally, though, as they came from 27-0 down to the Chargers to win 31-30 in an absolute thriller. The Chiefs also ended the season on a 5-game winning streak, taking the #1 seed in controversial fashion after the suspension of the Bills Bengals game in Week 17.
Given that they are the top seed and at home, it is perhaps not that surprising to see the Chiefs in as an 8 ½ pint favorite over the Jaguars. It has been a bit of a fairytale season for Jacksonville, but I think it all comes to an end this weekend. While I think the Chiefs will win at odds of -400, I am perhaps not as convinced that they will cover. Jacksonville has covered in 5 of their last 6 games and might well be worth taking a look at here.
4 of the last 5 meetings between these two have gone UNDER, so I’ll be playing the UNDER 52 points on Saturday.
Cincinnati Bengals at Buffalo Bills
If we are being totally honest, we all wanted to see this matchup after their Week 17 game ended up being suspended. The Bengals felt like they were handed a bit of a raw deal in the way in which the league dealt with the issue, as they had the lead in that game at the time Damar Hamlin went down. The Bengals ended the season on an 8-game win streak and got past the Ravens in a tight game in the Divisional Round. Despite all of that, they are in as a 3-point underdog on Sunday.
The Bills looked to be on their way to the #1 seed, winning 7 in a row to close out the regular season. They, too, were affected by the game suspension, but they still get home field advantage here after beating the Miami Dolphins in a game that was much closer than expected.
The Bengals have covered in 12 of their last 15 games, which is why I think we will see them cover in this one, which could end up going down to who has the ball last. In games versus the NFC North, the Bills have seen the UNDER hit in 9 of the last 10, so let’s take the UNDER 49 in this one.
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