Football
The NFL playoffs march on with four more wild-card games over the next two days, featuring MVP favorite Josh Allen, 2,000-yard runner Saquon Barkley, likely Offensive Rookie of the Year Jayden Daniels and the 14-win Vikings facing the Rams at a neutral site.
Let’s dig back in:
Football SUNDAY
BUFFALO BILLS (-9) over Denver Broncos; Over 47: If there’s one game that could get a little out of hand this weekend, this is probably the one.
Tough spot for Denver’s rookie quarterback Bo Nix to make his playoff debut. The Bills were undefeated at home this season, but have a recent memory of the Broncos going into Orchard Park in 2023 and beating them, 24-22. So, they’ll be on guard.
Josh Allen had an MVP-quality regular season, and Buffalo’s entire 22-man starting crew is rested and healthy. The Broncos are healthy as well, but Nix’s supporting cast on offense, outside of WR Courtland Sutton, isn’t scary. And Denver’s defense is respected, but don’t forget it did allow 497 passing yards to Jameis Winston.
It’s Super Bowl or bust for the Bills, and teams such as the Ravens and Chiefs are in the way. But I don’t think they’ll take any chances with this one and will be looking to blow the Broncos out early.
Bills, 37-13
PHILADELPHIA EAGLES (-4.5) over Green Bay Packers; Under 45.5: The Eagles’ Jalen Hurts has missed the past two games before clearing concussion protocol Friday.
Green Bay’s Jordan Love was removed from Sunday’s loss to the Bears with an elbow injury but was progressing later in the week. He’d be without WR Christian Watson, who suffered a torn ACL against Chicago.
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I think the Eagles offense can still function at a high level with a less-than-100-percent Hurts.
Saquon Barkley won’t rush for 260 yards against the Packers like he did in Week 1 in Brazil, but with him and A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith, Dallas Goedert, strong trenches on both sides of the ball and loud fan support, I think the Eagles are the team that’s bringing more to the party here.
Eagles, 24-14
TAMPA BAY BUCCANEERS (-3) over Washington Commanders; Over 50.5: The Buccaneers may have had the most eventful season of any NFL team. They finished just 10-7 and needed a comeback against the Saints in Week 18 to secure the NFC South title.
But their journey includes a 37-20 victory in Week 1 over these Commanders, in which they had no prior clue to what the Kliff Kingsbury-Jayden Daniels offense would look like.
In Week 2, the Bucs won, 20-16, in Detroit, handing the Lions the first of their two losses for the season. Tampa Bay found a way despite getting out-gained 463-216 in yardage.
The Bucs had a four-game losing streak at midseason after WRs Chris Godwin and Mike Evans got injured in the same game, but Baker Mayfield turned it around after Evans came back to finish 6-1, as Bucky Irving turned into a force running the ball.
I also believe coach Todd Bowles’ decision to let Evans get his record-tying 11th straight 1,000-yard receiving season and $3 million when he could have called victory formation will go a long way with the Bucs players.
Daniels and his crew are dangerous as well, and the Bucs have some key injuries on defense. Mayfield is 2-2 in his prior playoff games — winning with the Bucs over the Eagles and Browns over the Steelers. He has 10 touchdowns and three interceptions in the four games.
This one should be on full tilt all night.
Buccaneers, 35-31
Minnesota Vikings (-1) over Los Angeles Rams; Under 48: The NFL moved this game from SoFi Stadium to Glendale, Ariz., because of the wildfires ravaging the Los Angeles area.
Could that have an impact on one or both teams?.
The Vikings are the first 14-win wild-card team in NFL history, and many would call it a flaw in the NFL’s system that they would have to play on the road vs. the 10-win Rams.
There are some interesting layers to this matchup.
Just two teams defeated the Vikings this season — the Lions twice and the Rams, 30-20, in Week 8 in L.A. Minnesota went on a nine-game winning streak after that.
The Rams have the Super Bowl-winning coach-QB combo of Sean Payton and Matthew Stafford. With Kyren Williams, they can try to match the damage the Lions’ Jahmyr Gibbs did to the Vikings on the ground. And possibly Aaron Glenn’s Lions defense showed the Rams pass rushers the way to get to Sam Darnold.
But I think that is all addressed in the tiny spread, and I’ll put my trust in a Vikings team that’s mostly been great for four months.
Vikings, 24-20
LOCK OF THE WEEK: Steelers (Locks 9-9 in 2024).
LAST WEEK: 9-7 overall, 1-2 Best Bets.
Football Why Trust New York Post Betting
Dave Blezow’s one of the longest tenured NFL handicappers at the Post with picks dating back 31 years. He won the Post’s NFL betting standings in 2021 and the Playoffs most recently in 2023.
Read More Lyndia Geddes