NFL Playoffs Divisional Round JAN 12-13: Chargers @ Patriots

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NFL Playoffs Divisional Round Betting Odds, Notable Matchups, Schedule By Christopher B. Watford for NoLuckNeeded.com

The Wild Card round is over and we’ve got a weekend full of terrific games and star-studded matchups. A quarterback duel in KC, a game of rushing in Los Angeles, a hopeful underdog tale in New England, and a dying chance in New Orleans. This weekend has got it all, so strap in and let’s take a look.

Indianapolis Colts (+5.5) @ Kansas City Chiefs (-5.5) 1/12/19

Two of the hottest quarterbacks in the league are going to face off in what will be an unforgettable playoff match. Both of these QBs are playing at an insane rate, but Pat Mahomes is on a level ahead of everyone else. Throwing 50 touchdowns this season (tying Tom Brady for second most all time), Mahomes has been absolutely spectacular at such a young age - leading his team to a 12-4 record.

The Chiefs had a bye-week during the Wild Card round and Mahomes and co. were able to catch some rest after a 35-3 blowout win over the defenseless Raiders. The Chiefs finished the season with the best offense in the league, which doesn’t really come as a shock. Playing at a high-paced and long distance offense, the Chiefs averaged 35.3 points per game in the 2018 regular season.

Andrew Luck and the Colts are coming fresh off their win against the Houston Texans and their stifling defense. Luck had a pretty good game, throwing 222 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. If the Colts are to win this game, they need to play the best defense possible and attempt to slow down Pat Mahomes.

This is one of the closer spreads for the weekend, but the Colts can be a difficult team to bet against. Andrew Luck has been an established player in the league for a number of years now, but on the other hand, you have Pat Mahomes. As I mentioned earlier, it really comes down to Indianapolis playing the best defense they can and having the defensive line attempt to get their hands on Mahomes and slow him down.

Place your wager today at Intertops and watch the first game of the Divisional Round this Saturday on NBC at 4:45 PM ET.

Which two teams will meet in Atlanta for the Superbowl?

Dallas Cowboys (+7) @ LA Rams (-7) 1/12/19

With the first game of the weekend being a clash of quarterbacks, it’s only fitting that the second game of the night comes down to two running backs: Ezekiel Elliott and Todd Gurley. Try to stay on your feet, because this is going to be a marathon of a game.

Elliott showed last week why he’s one of the best running backs in the league, where he ran for 137 yards and a touchdown in a 24-22 win over the Seattle Seahawks. Not only did he have a spectacular game in the Wild Card round, he’s been consistent throughout the season where he lead the league in rushing yards.

While he might not have played for a few weeks due to an injury, Todd Gurley is ready to suit up against the Cowboys and their brutal run defense. Even with Gurley missing the final two weeks of the regular season he still managed to lead the league in rushing touchdowns with 17. The next closest player is Alvin Kamara from the New Orleans Saints with 14, but we’ll get to him in a little bit.

Jared Goff is starting to make a name for himself in the NFL as one of the best young quarterbacks and he’s going to have his will tested against the Dallas Cowboys. While the spread is favoring LA, the Cowboys have been persistent throughout the season and not only are they fast, they’re pesky. If the Cowboys can slow down the Rams and their high powered offense, they might stand a chance.

Tune in to FOX this Saturday at 8:15 PM ET.

LA Chargers (+4) @ New England Patriots (-4) 1/13/19

One of the premiere matchups of the weekend and the closest spread to boot. This is a tough game to wager on, if I’m being honest. As much as I love to hate him, Tom Brady is not a man you want to bet against. He’s 12-2 in his career in the Divisional Round, but if there’s any team to bring him another loss, it’s the Chargers. With their pesky defense and talented d-line, they might have what it takes to slow down the Patriots and vault themselves to the next round.

The Chargers managed to notch up seven sacks in their Wild Card win over the Ravens, and if they want to pull out a win on the Pat’s turf they need to keep up that same energy. It’s as simple as that. If the Chargers slack off for even a second, Tom Brady can finish the game. We’ve seen it time and time again and it’s nothing new at this point.

Not only does Tom Brady have the legacy behind him, he’s got the weather behind him too. With an expected high temperature of 28 degrees and the ever-looming possibility of snow. Brady is experienced in all types of weather and the Patriots’ home field advantage might prove to be useful against the Chargers.

It’s up to Philip Rivers and his crew to take down the juggernaut Patriots and hopefully Rivers can contribute more than he did last week. Throwing for 160 yards and 0 touchdowns, Rivers is going to need to do more if he expects to hoist his team to victory.

Tune in to CBS this Sunday at 1:05 PM ET.

Philadelphia Eagles ( +8 ) @ New Orleans Saints ( -8 ) 1/13/19

The Eagles are fresh off their miraculous win against the Chicago Bears. Chicago fans were reportedly seen wandering around downtown Chicago calling for Cody Parkey’s head after his missed field goal (not really, but you never know). Well, it looked like a missed field goal, but it was deflected. The part that hurts Chicago fans is Parkey made the first field goal, but Philadelphia called a timeout at the final possible second, resulting in the extra points not counting. Deflection or not, one thing's for certain: Parkey is going to be out of a job next season.

Philadelphia is going to be having a slight change of pace going in to this matchup. Let’s start with the fact that they’re playing one of the best teams in the league and the one time they did meet this season, it wasn’t pretty. Well, it was pretty hideous. On November 18th the Saints took it to the Eagles where they absolutely demolished them, 48-7. The defending champs have been pretty disappointing this season, what can they do to stop another onslaught from New Orleans?

For starters, their defense right now isn’t cutting it. They gave up the most passing yards among the eight teams that played last week and by a pretty decent margin too. The Eagles gave up 291 pass yards and the next closest team was the Bears, who gave up 258… to the Eagles. That’s not going to work for them if they want to stand any chance at all against an elite quarterback in Drew Brees. We saw it the first time these two teams met this season - if they can’t tighten up their pass defense, this will be a blowout.

The one diamond in the rough is the Eagles’ rushing defense. They only gave up 65 yards against the Bears last week and if they can continue to tighten up the gaps, they might stand a chance against Alvin Kamara.

The key thing about this game is no matter what the Eagles try and fix, the Saints have players who can do it all. If the Eagles patch up their passing defense, then they can stop Drew Brees. But what if they don’t do enough to fix their rushing defense? Alvin Kamara is going to be there to poke any and every hole that this Eagles team has. The biggest spread of the weekend and the biggest moment of Philadelphia’s season comes down to them playing absolutely perfect against Drew Brees and the first seed Saints. It’s a tough task and I don’t think that the Eagles have what it takes.

See for yourself this Sunday on FOX at 4:40 PM ET

NFL Betting Odds courtesy of Intertops Sports. Betting odds are subject to change.

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