DIVISIONAL ROUND RECAP
Divisional Round Record: 1-3
Overall Record: 45-53-2
I had a pretty terrible week record-wise but considering all these games were close my bets could have gone either way so I am not too upset about it. Considering the wildcard weekend was so dominated by the favorites I would never have anticipated that the complete opposite would happen this week. The Packers blew their lead late due to special teams which I did not account for but I was correct about the 49ers not being able to produce points. I was also right about the Titans’ defense being able to limit the Bengals’ big-play offense. What I did not see coming was how bad Tannehill would play as he practically gave the game away. Finally, the Bills were just not able to contain the Chiefs’ weapons like I thought they would have.
FAVORITES
- Straight Up: 1-3
HOME TEAMS
- Straight Up: 1-3
OVER/UNDER
- Divisional Weekend: 2-2
BIGGEST UPSET OF THE WEEK
Los Angeles Rams @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-3)
It didn’t look like this one was going to be competitive early on. The Rams had a 27-3 lead in the 3rd quarter and at that moment everyone was reminded of 28-3 in the Superbowl between the Pats and the Falcons and how Tom Brady made the most incredible comeback in the Superbowl history. Brady almost got the comeback as he tied the game up late and looked like the game was going into overtime. But Stafford hit Cooper Kupp on an incredible 44-yard bomb to put the Rams in field goal range to win the game. All the Rams bettors thought they were cruising to an east win but Brady had to make them sweat a little bit but the Rams final drive put the Bucs miracle cover-up in flames. Final score: 30-27
BAD BEAT OF THE WEEK
Buffalo Bills (+2) @ Kansas City Chiefs
13 seconds, that’s all the Chiefs needed to get into field goal range and send the game into overtime to win the game. The Bills bettors were 13 seconds from cashing in on this one. The Bills decided to play a dumb prevent defense which allowed Patrick Mahomes to go right down the field. The way these two offenses were playing this bet came down to a coin flip for who would get the ball but I am not going complain about the overtime rules because if the Bills just play a little defense on either of the final two drives, they would not be the bad beat of the week.
CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIPS PICKS
Cincinnati Bengals (+7) @ Kansas City Chiefs
The Bengals beat the Chiefs 34-31 in week 17. I think even if the Bengals get down in this, they won’t be out of it because of their big play, explosive offense and the Chiefs gave up 36 points to the Bills last week. They are getting 7 points which I believe is too large of a spread for an offense like the Bengals have. I also like it because of how close all the games were last week and I believe when you get to this point in the playoffs, I don’t think that either team is 8 points better than the other. The Bengals defense has been playing better lately only allowing more than 26 points once in the last 7 games. The Chiefs have a terrible secondary that will be exploited by Jamarr Chase and company. The Bengals are 7-2 ATS on the road this season and 6-0 ATS in their last 6 games.
San Franscisco 49ers (+3.5) @ Los Angeles Rams
Kyle Shanahan has Sean McVay’s number as he has beaten him 6 straight times. The 49ers held the Packers to 10 points and sacked him 5 times. The way the 49ers’ defense has been getting pressure on opposing quarterbacks the last week gives me confidence that they can do it again against the Rams. In the last matchup in week 18, the spread was the same at 3.5 and the 49ers got the win. I think the Rams will win this game but with the spread at 3.5, the half-point is enough to take the 49ers to cover because I feel like this game will come down to a field goal no matter who wins. The 49ers are 6-1 ATS in their last 7 games and 5-1 in their last 6 games against the Rams.
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Odds from Caesars Sportsbook
