Buffalo Bills at Houston Texans
The NFL playoffs kick off in Houston with the 10-6 Texans hosting the 10-6 Bills. Starting with the home side, they were able to rest starters in their Week 17 game against the Titans as they couldn’t improve their playoff seeding. The news just gets better for the Texans on Sunday as JJ Watt will return from injury that has ruled him out for most of the season. He’ll be a bit underdone but should still be able to get plenty of pressure on the Bills offence. Meanwhile, the Texans offence rests with the combination of Watson / Hopkins in the passing game. But they will find it tough against the Bills pass D. It’s been an impressive season by the Bills and they’ll be confident of a huge upset. They won 6 of 8 road games and their defence is playing at an elite level. They’ve also built a solid running game behind Devin Singletary and running QB Josh Allen. The Bills have quietly been the 2nd best scoring allowed defence in the league so we like their chances of keeping this playoff game under the total. The Under has saluted in 19 of their last 26 road games as well.
Stadium Record
The Texans hold an 11-5 record in their last 16 home games. Buffalo won the last meeting at this venue in 2015, 30-21.
Head to Head Record
Since 2002, the Texans hold a slight advantage with 5 wins out of 9. They last met in 2018 with the Texans getting home 20-13.
Best Bet
Tennessee Titans at New England Patriots
The second AFC playoff game heads to Foxborough as the 12-4 Patriots host the 9-7 Titans. After a shocking loss to the Dolphins at this venue, the Patriots surrendered their #2 seed in the AFC and will now have to win 3 playoff games to reach the Super Bowl. But you’d be a brave punter to back against the best franchise of the last decade. Tom Brady is a proven playoff performer and just knows how to win games like these. The problem at the moment is their running game which just isn’t the same without Gronkowski’s blocking, an element that was always underrated. So they need to rely on their defence to get stops, which did struggle with the Dolphins average offence last week. The Titans had no trouble crushing the Texans 2nd team last week with a 35-14 victory. Henry claimed the rushing title with a huge 211 yard, 3 TD performance. He’ll be the key in this game with the Patriots defence, which has struggled to contain running backs this season. The other bright spot in this offence has been the form of Ryan Tannehill. He finished the season with 22 TDs and just 6 picks in a remarkable turnaround. But the Titans weakness is their pass D, so they need to pressure Tom Brady all game. I’m liking the Overs trend between the Pats and Titans which has a 7-1 record in the last 8 games in Foxborough. They also met in the playoffs here in 2018 and the Pats won easily 35-14. This should be much closer but both sides should have success throughout this clash in the passing game.
Stadium Record
The Patriots have a dominant 15-2 record in their last 17 home games. The Titans have lost their last 3 games in New England by 14+.
Head to Head Record
The Titans crushed the Pats 34-10 in the last meeting. But overall, New England has an 8-2 record since 1998.
Best Bet
Minnesota Vikings at New Orleans Saints
The NFC double-header starts in the Big Easy as the 13-3 Saints host the 10-6 Vikings. New Orleans can count themselves as unlucky for hosting a wild-card game after 13 wins but that just shows the strength of the NFC at the moment. They went 6-2 at home this season and will obviously be keen to avenge last season’s playoff loss to the Rams. Their offence continues to be a strong point behind Brees and his massive variety of attacking weapons. While on defence, the Saints were great against the run and that’ll be the key against the Vikings running game. Meanwhile, the Vikings head into the playoffs on the back of 2 losses, although they did rest starters in Week 17. The biggest concern with Minnesota at the moment will be top RB Dalvin Cook’s and his fitness. He hasn’t played for a while due to injury and he’s so important for their scoring. He takes the pressure off Kirk Cousins to win the game in the air and helps their defence stay on the sidelines. They’ll also need to figure out how to stop the Saints high powered offence. The Saints have historically struggled in home playoff games with a 1-4 ATS record. So we like the Overs trend when these two sides meet, which is 8-3 in the last 11 meetings.
Stadium Record
The Saints are 6-2 at home this season. The Vikings have lost their last 3 encounters in New Orleans since 2010.
Head to Head Record
Since 2004, the head to head is split at 5-5. They last met in the playoffs in 2018 with the Vikings winning on the last play, 29-24.
Best Bet
Seattle Seahawks at Philadelphia Eagles
The last playoff game of the weekend will see the 9-7 Eagles playing the 11-5 Seahawks in Philadelphia this Sunday. The Eagles finished off the regular season with 4 straight wins and that saw them win the NFC East over the Cowboys. They’ve struggled with a lengthy injury list throughout the season so they’ll be hoping to get key pieces back. That includes TE Zach Ertz and Agholor. But Carson Wentz has still managed to have a solid season and the Eagles defence against the run was impressive. Seattle heads to Philly on the back of 2 straight defeats against the 49ers and Cardinals. Much like the Eagles, injuries haven’t been kind but they should be confident after beating the Eagles at this venue in November (17-9). But they have lost top RB Chris Carson to injury so the pressure will be on Russell Wilson to win the game in the air. Considering the Seahawks travelled to Philadelphia in late November and won 17-9, we have to like the chances of another low scoring game. Both sides have injuries galore on the offensive side of the ball so scoring should be tough.
Stadium Record
The Eagles are 8-3 at home since last season. Seattle has an impressive 5-0 record at this venue in the last 25 years.
Head to Head Record
Seattle holds a 7-3 advantage since 2001 and beat the Eagles 17-9 last November.
Best Bet
