Ok, now that Wild Card Weekend is in the books, next up is the NFL Divisional Round.
Only 8 teams remain in the hunt for the Super Bowl, and it promises to be an epic weekend of NFL football.
All the top contenders for league MVP are in action this weekend, so let’s get going with the latest NFL Divisional Round preview, filled with odds and betting insights that might be the most valuable to you.
View the latest NFL odds at Bovada
Houston Texans (+335) at Kansas City Chiefs (-450)
As the #1 seed in the AFC, the Kansas City Chiefs had a week off to chill—actually two weeks, since they rested most of their starters in Week 18 too.
With a rested squad and the fact that Patrick Mahomes is a crazy 6-0 in NFL Divisional Round playoff games, it’s a little surprising the Chiefs are only within a 2-point converted touchdown when it comes to the spread over the Houston Texans.
The main reasons for this? It could be the Texans’ defense, which was all over the field against the Chargers in their Wild Card win last weekend. They forced QB Justin Herbert to throw 4 interceptions—more than he’d thrown all season. Their edge rushers, Danielle Hunter and Denico Autry, are also threats, especially if Mahomes still feels any effects from a late-season ankle sprain.
But the Chiefs are still the Chiefs. As the reigning Super Bowl champs, they know how to win, and they would love to hit that three-peat. In the 58 years of the Super Bowl, winning 3 straight Super Bowls has never been done, so we know the Chiefs are starving.
Travis Kelce, the future Hall of Fame tight end, comes alive in the playoffs, and he can put the team on his back. But he may not even need to: with DeAndre Hopkins, Xavier Worthy, and Marquise Brown all stepping up as wide receivers lately, Mahomes has plenty of options.
On defense, KC is also getting All-Pro DT Chris Jones back from injury. He could have a field day against the Texans’ offensive line. Texans’ QB CJ Stroud finished the season with the league’s second-highest rate of being under pressure on dropbacks, and Jones isn’t looking to take the pressure off.
Kansas City was also a perfect 8-0 at home during the regular season, including a W over the Texans in Week 16.
Catch all the NFL odds for the Chief-Texans game now with hundreds of bets at Bovada.
Baltimore Ravens (-110) at Buffalo Bills (-110)
Those who set the NFL odds each week sure do love them some Bills. They’ve been the moneyline favorite in 42 straight games, tops in the NFL.
This week’s upcoming battle against Baltimore is testing this streak, however. The moneyline is currently even, a rare pick ‘em game, and the spread has moved back and forth from +1 to -1 for both teams.
Going into this AFC Divisional Round matchup against the Ravens, the Bills might have revenge on their mind. In Week 4 of the regular season, Lamar Jackson, Derrick Henry, and the entire Ravens team spanked Buffalo 35-10.
The Jackson-Henry combo is brutal for teams, spreading them out as they need to contain both. They combined for a staggering 267 yards rushing against the Steelers last week, and in the cold Buffalo air – plus the motivation to keep the ball out of Josh Allen’s hands as much as possible – look for the dynamic duo to run often again this weekend.
Of course, Josh Allen is going to Josh Allen. The likely NFL MVP winner in a few weeks, Allen is proving to be almost as unstoppable as the Ravens’ duo. After a slow start, he led the Bills to a 31-7 win over the Broncos last weekend.
Outside of his obvious skills, Allen has tons of options on every play and makes the most of them. In the Broncos game alone, eight different Bills’ players caught at least one pass, and four different rushers (including Allen himself) combined for 213 yards. The Ravens’ D will need to keep up.
Keep an eye on the Over/Under. Both the Bills and the Ravens averaged over 30 points on offense this season, and the O/U is a comparatively low 51.5.
It’s a battle of the two main MVP candidates in Jackson and Allen, and possibly the best game of the NFL playoffs.
Catch all the props, parlays and the latest odds for the epic Bills-Ravens game this weekend.
Washington Commanders (+375) at Detroit Lions (-525)
The good news, if you’re a Washington fan? With Jayden Daniels putting in another electric performance last weekend in the NFC Wild Card game against the Buccaneers, the Commanders won their first playoff game since 2005.
The bad news? The Commanders and their rookie QB are heading to Ford Field to face the top team in the NFC, the Detroit Lions.
The Lions finished the season 15-2, with the league’s best points per game average and second-best passing yards per game. And they’re expecting running back David Montgomery to return to the lineup, forcing Washington to play the run more closely, giving wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown and Jameson Williams plenty of opportunities deeper down the field.
Although much has been written about all the injuries the Lions’ defense has been hit with, they still dominated Sam Darnold and a very good Vikings squad in a crucial Week 18 game to secure the #1 NFC seed. What will they do against a rookie – albeit a fantastic rookie – playing in the insane noise at Ford Field?
For their part, Washington did finish the regular season 3rd in rushing yards per game and 5th in points scored. Both these stats will need to be amped up against Detroit, though, since the Commanders were a soft 18th in the league in points against.
The Over/Under for the Lions-Commanders game is the highest in the NFL playoffs divisional round at 55 points. With all the options the Lions’ O can throw at any team, especially now that Montgomery is also back, it could make this an Overplay.
Los Angeles Rams (+220) at Philadelphia Eagles (-270)
This game showcases two of the most unpredictable teams in the NFL Divisional Round.
Both the Rams and Eagles have displayed moments of brilliance this season, but they’ve also had their fair share of flat performances.
Where should you place your NFL bets on these Jekyll-and-Hyde squads?
The Eagles enter the game with running back Saquon Barkley in peak form. After rushing for over 2,000 yards in the regular season, he dominated the Wild Card game against the Packers, racking up 119 yards—easily more if not for his unselfish play.
But if the Rams’ D can contain Barkley, they have a shot at leaving the City of Brotherly Love without heartbreak. Aside from a 290-yard performance against the Steelers, Hurts has averaged only 119 yards passing in his last 4 games. He’ll need to get AJ Brown more involved in the passing game if the Rams can bottle up Barkley as they did Green Bay, allowing the Pack only 106 yards on the ground.
Speaking of bottling players up, expect a tough day for Rams star receiver Puka Nacua. The Eagles have one of the best secondaries in football. Cooper DeJean, Darius Slay, and Quinyon Mitchell will focus on clipping his wings, especially with the reduced role of Cooper Kupp in the past two months.
A safer bet? The point spread. Los Angeles (currently +6.0) usually plays the top teams closely, covering 8 of the last 9 spreads against teams with records above .500.
There are over 330 bets for the Rams-Eagles Divisional Round game at Bovada.
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*Odds subject to change