NFL Wild Card weekend: Who to bet

The first slate of NFL Wild Card games begin Saturday, with eight teams keeping hope alive into the Divisional round.

On Saturday, the Houston Texans and Indianapolis Colts kick things off at NRG Stadium in the third matchup between the AFC South rivals this season. Houston is the third seed but isn’t getting much love from Vegas, only coming into the affair as a 1-point favorite. The Texans are likely only laying a single point because the Colts beat them a month ago down in Texas, during a stretch in which they won nine of 10 games to close out the season. Frankly, it’s very hard to bet against Andrew Luck right now. Go with the hot (right) hand.

The nightcap belongs to the Dallas Cowboys and Seattle Seahawks. Dallas comes into the playoffs as the fourth seed and NFC East champion. It closed the season with a 7-1 mark in its last eight games. Meanwhile, Seattle also finished the year at 10-6. They bounced back after an ugly 0-2 start that included losses in Denver and Chicago. Both these teams like to run the ball and can play good defense in the front seven, but the difference lies in the power positions. The Seahawks’ combination of Russell Wilson and Pete Carroll trumps that of Dak Prescott and Jason Garrett. Take Seattle, which is a two-point underdog away from home.

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Come Sunday, the most evenly-matched game in the NFL Wild Card round takes play in the afternoon. The Baltimore Ravens see the Los Angeles Chargers come to town. The two played back in Week 16, with the Ravens winning out on the west coast. This time, Baltimore is favored by three points at home, trying to advance in the postseason for only the second time since winning the Super Bowl back in 2012. The difference here might be the Ravens’ ability to get to Philip Rivers. In their regular-season tilt, the Chargers quarterback was sacked four times and threw a pair of interceptions, all while being limited to 189 yards. Why is that suddenly going to get much better on the road in cold weather?

Read: Giants Future in Doubt for Eli Manning

Lastly, the Chicago Bears host the Philadelphia Eagles as a six-point favorite. This game should come down to whether Nick Foles can continue his magic, this time against the best defense in the NFL. Ultimately, Foles deserves a ton of respect for the way he has played in his two years with the Eagles (this time around), but Chicago is the better team, at home. Philadelphia is going to cover the spread,  but the Bears are going to advance.