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2012 NFL Divisional Round Gambling: Lines | Playoff Matchups & Predictions

Dave Schwab weighs in on the Divisional Playoff weekend NFL 2011/12 season. A brief review of the current Divisional Playoff point spreads and NFL wild card over/under lines for all the games being featured in the playoffs…

Divisional Playoff Gambling Lines: Top Matchups

For just the third time since 2000, all four home teams won straight-up in last weekend’s Wildcard Round of the NFL playoffs. Three of four favorites won and covered, with Denver being the lone underdog to win straight-up.

I had the correct call on the Saints, but was on the wrong side of the Broncos’ upset over the Steelers. After crunching the numbers for the Divisional Round matchups, I uncovered two top plays for this weekend’s games.

All odds quoted are courtesy of BetOnline.

Sunday, January 15

Houston Texans vs. Baltimore Ravens
Point spread: Baltimore -9
Total line: 35.5

The Texans’ franchise playoff debut won shining reviews with a 31-10 romp over Cincinnati last Saturday as four-point home favorites. They will now have to take their show on the road where they went 5-3 both straight-up and against the spread this season. The solid news out of Houston is Arian Foster’s return to full health after racking-up 153 yards on the ground against the Bengals.

Baltimore earned a first-round bye for the playoffs mainly because of its play at home this season. The Ravens went a perfect 8-0 SU at M&T Bank Stadium, but they were just 4-3-1 ATS. While they will rely heavily on a defense that was ranked first in the NFL against the run to shut Foster down, somewhere along the line Joe Flacco is going to have to make some plays with his arm to actually win it.

Houston is 4-1 ATS in its last five games on the road and 3-0-1 ATS in its last four as an underdog. Overall, it is 7-2-2 ATS in its last 11 games.

The Ravens are 1-3-1 ATS in their last five home games and 1-4 ATS in their last five Divisional Round playoff games.

The road team in this series is 4-1 ATS in the last five meetings, but the Texans are 1-4 ATS in the last five games overall including a 29-14 loss earlier this season as seven-point road underdogs. Baltimore finds a way to win this game, but it will not cover the nine-point spread against Houston’s defense. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

The Pick: Baltimore 23 vs. Houston 17

New York Giants vs. Green Bay Packers
Point spread: Green Bay -8
Total line: 52.5

The Giants have been a streaky team all season long with a 6-2 SU start, followed by a 1-5 SU slide, and a current three-game winning streak that includes last Sunday’s 24-2 beatdown of Atlanta in the Wildcard Round as three-point home favorites. The main thing in New York’s favor is that Coach Tom Coughlin knows how to get this team ready for big games.

There was little doubt that Green Bay was the best team in the NFL over the course of the regular season, but there were still a few cracks in the foundation including a defense that ended-up ranked dead-last in the NFL against the pass and in total yards allowed. So far, Aaron Rodgers and the offense have been able to throw a patch over these cracks with an average of 35 points a game, which is tops in the league.

New York is 6-0 ATS in its last six playoff games on the road and 6-1 ATS in its last seven playoff games overall.

Green Bay is 5-1-1 ATS in its last seven Divisional Round playoff games and 4-0 ATS in its last four playoff games overall.

The road team in this series is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings and the underdog is 4-1 ATS in the last five. The Giants covered as seven-point home favorites in a 38-35 loss to the Packers in Week 13 and will cover this time as well with the eight points on the road.

The Pick: Green Bay 31 vs. New York 28

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By Dave Schwab

David Schwab is a regular contributor to the Cappers Picks Blog. While not cheering for his beloved Philadelphia Eagles David can be found working on his blog at www.eaglesinc.com. David wants to hear from you so please comment below.