NFL Wild Card weekend odds: Early thoughts on each line

Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans (-2.5)

Can anybody explain why the Bills are being treated as a better team than the Texans with this line? Buffalo hasn’t beaten a single good team this year, unless you’re a huge fan of the Dallas Cowboys, or the Tennessee Titans before Ryan Tannehill. Yes, Josh Allen can be explosive and yes, the defense is terrific. However, the Texans have the distinct edge at both quarterback and playmakers. They also have loads of experience in this spot (or at least most of their stars do). Houston is also at home. Could the Bills win? Yes. Will they? Not likely.

Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots (-4.5)

This is the classic case of an old team hanging on for one more moment. Right now, the Titans are better than the Patriots. New England. has played bad football own the stretch, finishing the regular season 4-4 and without any punch offensively. Tom Brady looks hurt. Julian Edelman is definitely hurt. The defense is good but no longer great. So on.

Meanwhile, the Titans are 7-3 with Tannehill as the starting quarterback, A.J. Brown is a stud rookie receiver and Derrick Henry is the NFL rushing champion. Still, with all that said, this is in Foxborough, in primetime, with the Patriots coming off a hideous week. They find a way, although take Tennessee to cover.

Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints (-8)

Not a ton needs to be said here. The Vikings are a good team with a good roster, but Kirk Cousins has never proven himself to deliver in the biggest of spots. This certainly qualifies as one of those spots. The Saints are the better team — yours truly sees them as the best in the NFC — and in the Superdome, it’ll take a superhuman effort to beat them. Minnesota should cover the eight points, but it’ll be close. You’re better off taking the moneyline and going big on the Saints to win outright.

Seattle Seahawks (-1.5) at Philadelphia Eagles

Weird game. The Seahawks should win, but the Eagles have found ways in recent weeks. This is also in Philadelphia, meaning Seattle will need its second win there in two months (the two met in November). The Seahawks are the better team and certainly the more healthy one, so smart money says Seattle covers in a close game. Still, this might be a stay-away considering both Seattle and Philadelphia have been odd teams all year.