There are eight teams remaining in the chase for the Vince Lombardi Trophy, given each year to the winner of the Super Bowl and named after the storied NFL coach who led the Green Bay Packers to the first two Super Bowl titles. In the NFC, the Los Angeles Rams, Green Bay Packers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and New Orleans Saints remain alive, while the AFC still has the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills, Cleveland Browns and Kansas City Chiefs on the board. This week, four of those teams will see their seasons end. Which four will advance?
Take a look at our NFL betting predictions for the divisional round.
NFL News: Divisional Round Predictions
Saturday, January 16
L.A. Rams (+6.5) at Green Bay Packers (O/U 45.5)
4:35 pm ET, FOX
The Rams will head to Lambeau Field on a day in which the forecast has a high temperature of 32 degrees, and the snow predicted for Thursday and Friday could stick around. That’s not a good setting for any warm-weather team, especially one that has a quarterback who has three pins in his throwing thumb and a terrifying pass rusher (Aaron Donald) dealing with rib injuries.
We saw the Packers eviscerate the Tennessee Titans on a snowy night, as the Titans had a hard time moving around, especially on defense, with the longer studs on their shoes to deal with the icy turf. This is also a situation that will be new to the Rams, and I see Aaron Rodgers just sitting back and picking the Ram defense apart. Packers to win and cover.
Baltimore Ravens (+2.5) at Buffalo Bills (50)
8:15 pm ET, NBC
Lamar Jackson delivered big-time in his first playoff win, throwing for 179 yards and running for 136, which includes a 48-yard touchdown run that set the social media world on fire. The Ravens brought a physical defense that held Derrick Henry, who ran for over 2,000 yards in the regular season, to just 40 yards on 18 carries. The Ravens had plenty of motivation after losing at home to those same Titans in the divisional round a year ago.
The Buffalo Bills got 324 yards from Josh Allen in a solid win over the Indianapolis Colts. The Bills’ defense bent but did not break against Indianapolis, and as far as pocket passers, it’s hard to argue that Jackson is much better than Philip Rivers. Jackson brings an element with the running game that Rivers does not, which will challenge the Buffalo defense. However, Buffalo’s ability to get big plays in the passing game should help them pull away. Bills to win and cover.
Sunday, January 17
Cleveland Browns (+10) at Kansas City Chiefs (57)
3:05 pm ET, CBS
The Cleveland Browns picked up a huge win in terms of franchise history when they beat the Pittsburgh Steelers in the wild card round at Heinz Field. Baker Mayfield showed that he can make pocket pass completions down the field when the Steelers limited his ability to profit from the bootleg, and Nick Chubb and Kareem Hunt also produced big plays.
The Browns’ secondary, though, will have major problems against Patrick Mahomes. So while the Browns are likely to get off to the stronger start in this game, given that the Chiefs don’t really start all that well and don’t really play hard until the second half in a lot of cases, the Chiefs should come back. But can they win by more than double digits? I’m not sure about that. Browns to cover.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+3) at New Orleans Saints (52)
6:40 pm ET, FOX
New Orleans won the first two meetings between these teams this season, winning by 11 at home in Week 1 and then winning by 35 in Tampa in Week 9. It’s hard to beat a team three times in one season, particularly when that team has Tom Brady on it. No quarterback has more playoff wins than Brady (31); he also leads the NFL in career playoff starts (42) and playoff road wins (11).
The Saints had an ironclad defense against Chicago in the wild card round, but the Bucs’ offense is significantly better, and Brady has all of his weapons healthy and ready to play. Alvin Kamara and Drew Brees look to be in fine form, but will that be enough? Tampa Bay to cover.
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