NFL Wild Card odds: Best bets against the spread
By Brad Rowland
Houston and Kansas City UNDER 40.5
To get to five picks on the week (a challenge), we have to give a total, and this is the one. To be honest, I don’t love any of the totals available, as they all strike me as relatively fair in the market. However, if forced to choose I’ll gladly take the under in a game featuring Alex Smith and Brian Hoyer under center.
This is a (very) low number for an NFL Playoff game, and I get that, but doesn’t this matchup scream 20-16 to you? It certainly does to me, and with the fact that I like Houston in the game, a low-scoring affair makes even more sense. Close your eyes and take the under if you must choose.
Pittsburgh (-2.5) over Cincinnati
I really don’t like giving out a public favorite, but I can’t talk myself into the Bengals right now.
Yes, Cincinnati got a win in Week 17, but they made things all too interesting against a wretched Baltimore team. The Bengals simply haven’t been the same without Andy Dalton. There is at least some faint uncertainty surrounding Cincinnati’s quarterback situation for this game at the time of this post, but even if Dalton plays, he won’t be at 100%.
That sends me in the direction of Pittsburgh, even on the road, and the Steelers have the firepower to simply outduel the Bengals. My convictions aren’t huge because, well, they can’t possibly be with a road favorite that the public likes, but I believe the Steelers win the game outright and the little number isn’t enough to sway me to the other side.
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