NFL Wild Card Round Tips
The NFL regular season is over and the playoffs start this week with six games across three days of action on Super Wild Card Weekend.
There are 14 of the original 32 teams remaining in the fight to lift the Vince Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas on February 11, with 12 of them battling to stay in the hunt this weekend.
The top seeds in each conference - the Baltimore Ravens in the AFC and the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC - earned a bye and will host the lowest remaining seeds in the divisional playoffs next week.
The wild-card contests include some interesting matches, with two road teams made favourites while the home teams are asked to give up more than a touchdown on the handicap in another two games.
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Let's take a look at our favourite bets for the first week of playoff action, which includes one game on each day.
Tip 1 - Cleveland Browns to beat Houston Texans @ 3/4
The Texans are the fourth seed in the AFC after winning the AFC South and the Browns are seeded fifth as the top wild-card side, but it's no surprise to see the road team made favourites for the opening contest of the playoffs on Saturday.
The Browns went to Houston and won comfortably just three weeks ago, cruising into a 36-7 lead before easing up and winning 36-22. Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper set a team record with 265 receiving yards that day and veteran quarterback Joe Flacco has thrown 13 touchdown passes in his first five games with the team.
The Texans did not have starting quarterback CJ Stroud or pass-rusher Will Anderson Jr. for that meeting and both star rookies should be available this week, but back-up Case Keenum had led the team to a win over the Titans in their previous game and could get nothing done against the league-leading Browns defence.
Houston head coach DeMeco Ryans has done a fantastic job to lead his team, who had a 3-13-1 record last season, to the playoffs this year but their impressive campaign should end this week.
Tip 2 - Los Angeles Rams +3 @ 10/11 Vs Detroit Lions
The NFC clash between the Detroit Lions and the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday night could be one of the best games of the weekend and the underdog Rams are set to give the home team a real test.
The Lions (12-5) are the third seed after winning the NFC North for the first time - their previous division win came when they played in the NFC Central in 1993. However, the sixth-seeded Rams are the most in-form team in the conference after winning their last four games and seven of their last eight, with the only loss coming to the Ravens in overtime.
This game sees quarterbacks Matthew Stafford of the Rams and Jared Goff of the Lions both playing against their former teams and there should be fireworks as both passers have a great array of offensive weapons at their disposal.
With elite wide receiver Cooper Kupp, rookie sensation Puka Nucua and breakout running back Kyren Williams, the Rams can go toe-to-toe with the Lions, and taking them with a three-point handicap start has great appeal.
Tip 3 - Under 43.5 points in Tampa Bay Buccaneers v Philadelphia Eagles @ 9/10
The final game of the first weekend of the playoffs on Monday night is a fascinating contest, mainly because it features the Philadelphia Eagles, whose season has gone off the rails in the last six weeks. The Eagles (11-6) were among the Super Bowl favourites when they won 10 of their first 11 games this season, but they have lost five of their six games since then and now must go on the road in the playoffs.
The Buccaneers just did enough to win the weak NFC South division with a 9-8 record, but they have struggled against the stronger sides they have faced, so should be happy to be going up against a team in crisis.
The best bet on this game could be to go under on total points at 44. Only six of the Buccaneers' 17 regular-season games went over, including two of their eight home games, and last week they laboured to a 9-0 win over the Panthers in a game that featured no touchdowns.
The Eagles have injury concerns over key offensive players in quarterback Jalen Hurts (finger) and wide receiver AJ Brown (knee) which should help to make this a low-scoring defensive battle.
