Sportsbook.com - NFL: The Early Odds
NFL Football
Previews
Huge spreads mark the second week of the NFL
Playoffs.
With an extra week off to rest and get healthy
while their opponents played last weekend, the
home teams have all been installed as favorites
of more than a touchdown for the Divisional Playoff
meetings this weekend.
While the week
off doesn’t ensure success,
it’s one of the big reasons why the spreads
are so large.
Here is an opening look at each of the games.
Seattle
(+8) at Green Bay
The opening game of the Divisional Playoffs
pits Seattle coach Mike Holmgren against the
Green Bay team he won a Super Bowl with in the
1996 season. These teams met in a 2004 playoff
game in Green Bay that the Pack won 33-27 in
overtime.
Holmgren’s Seahawks are fortunate to be
in this game after letting the Redskins come
back from a 13-0 deficit in the fourth quarter
of their Wild Card game. Even though the final
score was 35-14, it wasn’t indicative of
how close the game really was.
Green Bay (13-3)
has been the surprise team in the NFL this
year, but it won’t mean
much if they don’t take care of business
at home and make the NFC Championship game.
Jacksonville
(+13) at New England
A Saturday night game in Foxboro always means
the elements will be a big factor, but the early
forecast shows fairly mild temperatures of around
30 degrees at kickoff.
And, in a case
of role reversals, it’s
actually the Patriots who would prefer the better
weather so they can ramp up their number one
rated passing attack. The Florida-based Jaguars
would prefer a blizzard to slow down Tom Brady,
and to help the Jags’ power running game.
The Jaguars proved
in Saturday’s 31-29
win at Pittsburgh that they can score points
with their offense, defense and special teams,
but all three phases must play flawlessly to
upset 16-0 New England on their own turf.
San
Diego (+8.5) at Indianapolis
Sunday’s
early game is a rematch of a Week 11 contest
in San Diego that the Chargers won 23-21. Peyton
Manning threw six interceptions in that game
and the Colts still would have won if not for
a missed field goal by Adam Vinatieri.
After beating Tennessee
17-6, the Chargers now travel to the climate-controlled
RCA Dome to face a Colts’ team that was
6-2 at home this year. If San Diego is to win,
they must run the ball a lot better than they
did against Tennessee.
LaDainian Tomlinson was held to just 42 rushing
yards against the Titans, forcing quarterback
Philip Rivers to win the game. If L.T. is shut
down again this week, the Chargers look to be
in a world of hurt.
NY
Giants (+7.5) at Dallas
The final game of this weekend is a late-afternoon
tilt between these NFC East rivals. Dallas won
both of their meetings this year, including a
45-35 Week 1 win in Dallas. Cowboys quarterback,
Tony Romo threw for 345 yards in that game, but
the Giants had a chance to win until the final
few minutes.
This is the closest
spread of the four games this weekend and there
are several reasons for that. First, it’s
hard to beat a team three times in a season.
Second, Dallas limped home down the stretch
and will be playing with receiver Terrell Owens
at less than 100%.
The final reason
is that the Giants looked energized in their
loss to New England in the last week of the
regular season, and in their 24-14 playoff
win at Tampa Bay. The Giants truly believe
they can go on the road and win again. We’ll
see if that hopes comes to fruition.
GAMBLe
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