NFL Wild Card Weekend betting action gets underway on Saturday with the Kansas City Chiefs (11-5) visiting the Houston Texans (9-7) in what figures to be a defensive showdown.
Both defenses are ranked in the top eight in terms of yards allowed. Both teams have plenty of momentum as well, as the Chiefs have won 10 straight while the Texans have won seven of their last nine games.
The Chiefs, who have two more wins than the Texans, are on the road because Houston won their division while Kansas City qualified as a Wild Card. The Chiefs opened as a three-point road favorite for this matchup.
The second game on Saturday is an AFC North showdown with the Pittsburgh Steelers (10-6) visiting the Cincinnati Bengals (12-4). The Steelers opened as a 1-point road underdog but quickly moved to a 2.5-point road favorite mostly because the Bengals are expected to be without starting quarterback Andy Dalton.
However, the key to the game might be the other starting quarterback, Ben Roethlisberger. He has been stellar at home (16 TD, 7 INT) but quite suspect on the road (5 TD, 9 INT).
On Sunday, we’ll see the Seattle Seahawks (10-6) visit the Minnesota Vikings (11-5) in the early game. This is a rematch from a Week 13 contest when the Seahawks went to Minnesota and thrashed the Vikings 38-7.
There is a lot of skepticism surrounding the Vikings, which is why the Seahawks opened as a five-point road favorite. The Vikings tend to struggle when Adrian Peterson can’t get going and that figures to be a problem against the Seahawks, who have allowed the third-fewest rushing yards in the NFL. Peterson had just 18 yards on eight carries in the first meeting.
The last game of the weekend will feature the Washington Redskins (9-7) hosting the Green Bay Packers (10-6). The Redskins are deemed to be the postseason’s weakest link but they won four straight games to end the year and are 6-2 at home this season.
As for the Packers, they started the year 6-0 but finished with losses in 10 of their last 14 games.
While it’s hard to believe, Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins finished with a better quarterback rating and more passing yards than Aaron Rodgers this season. Even so, the Redskins opened as just small 1.5-point home favorites because of the Packers’ pedigree.