At this point, the NFC playoff picture looks much more cut-and-dried than the one in the AFC. The Green Bay Packers, despite that loss to Detroit in the season finale, have locked up the top seed and have looked dominant since Week 2. We may never know just what happened in Jacksonville in Week 1, when the Packers got steamrolled by the New Orleans Saints. Since then, the offense has been cooking, with A.J. Dillon and Aaron Jones pounding the ball in the running game and with Aaron Rodgers delivering masterful performances in the passing game. The defense has been just good enough to hold off the opposition, and since Week 1, the two meaningful Packer losses have come by a combined nine points, and the six-point loss in Kansas City came when Jordan Love was the Green Bay quarterback. Can anyone stop the Packers’ momentum?
Check out our NFL betting thoughts heading into the wild card round.
NFL News: Betting Projections for the Postseason (NFC)
NFC Playoff Bracket
(1) Green Bay Packers (bye)
(7) Philadelphia Eagles at (2) Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Sunday, January 16, 1:00 pm ET, FOX
(6) San Francisco 49ers at (3) Dallas Cowboys
Sunday, January 16, 4:30 pm ET, CBS
(5) Arizona Cardinals at (4) L.A. Rams
Monday, January 17, 8:15 pm ET, ESPN / ABC
Why are the Packers such an unstoppable force?
Much of this has to do with weaknesses in the rest of the bracket. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers pose a threat, but Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown are not going to be running routes, and Mike Evans’ hamstring has to be a concern. Leonard Fournette could return for the postseason, which would upgrade the Bucs’ running game, but for now, the sheer lack of depth is a real problem for Tampa Bay.
What about the Dallas Cowboys? Their 12-5 record is really a facade for a .500 team. They have played six divisional games against teams in various stages of rebuilding, and the fact that Philadelphia was able to snag a wild card out of the NFC East is really a testament to problems that such usual contenders as Minnesota, New Orleans, Chicago and Seattle are having this season. The Cowboys do have a vastly improved defense – when they get takeaways. If they don’t get turnovers, they struggle to stop a dedicated running game, and they have a hard time covering receivers on third-and-long, so if they don’t get a sack or a pick on those plays, they are likely to give up big yardage. If the Cowboys can survive the San Francisco 49ers in the first round, then that’s the perfect defense to get embarrassed in the divisional round by what Green Bay’s offense can do.
How about those 49ers, anyway? They look tough as nails right now, with Elijah Mitchell leading a physical running game, along with Deebo Samuel, getting carries to provide more speed out of the backfield. George Kittle, Samuel and Brandon Aiyuk are all dangerous in the passing game. The problem is Jimmy Garroppolo’s tendency to hurry and throw picks when he is under pressure. However, no team is finishing games better than the 49ers right now, and this team that swept the Rams could line up and surprise just about anyone at this point.
What happened to the Arizona Cardinals? That 7-0 start turned into an 11-6 finish, punctuated by that thud at home in Week 18 against Seattle, when the Seahawks dropped 38 on a defense that suddenly looks wishy-washy. I thought Arizona would win this division when the season started and push at least to the divisional round, but now I’m not sure they make it through this matchup in Los Angeles – and the Rams are seeing those Matthew Stafford turnover nightmares that I predicted.
Tampa : Bet the Game Today
NFL Betting Odds
Love betting NFL football? | Xbet Sportsbook offers up to date NFL lines
Check out XBet’s NFL Calendar: Dates, Scores, Tips, Previews, and Predictions
