posted January 5, 2009 at 10:25 EST in NFL Articles
NFL Divisional Playoff Weekend
by Mike Rose
Tennessee Titans vs Baltimore Ravens
Defense will be the name of the game when the Titans and Ravens hook up in Nashville this Saturday. Tennessee has enjoyed its bye week after winning the AFC South and the #1 overall seed in the AFC, while the Ravens cruised to the 27-9 road win and cover at Miami in last Sunday’s Wild Card round.
These squads met in a physical game in Baltimore back in Week 5, and the Titans came out as the pointspread winners as one-point favorites in the 13-10 victory. Tennessee has covered four straight games and is 3-1 SU against Baltimore. Six of the L/7 games between these teams have gone under the closing ‘total’.
After opening up the season 3-2 ATS, the Ravens have gone 10-2 ATS since.
Expect to see another tightly contested battle between these squads with points being the ultimate premium.
Carolina Panthers vs. Arizona Cardinals
Two division winners hook up in Carolina for the NFC semifinals when the Panthers play host to the Cardinals. Arizona pulled a mild upset last week, knocking the Falcons out of the playoffs with a 30-24 win. The Panthers fell narrowly short of capturing the #1 overall seed in the NFC, but will hope for a win and a Philadelphia win to host the NFC title game in a couple weeks.
Carolina has won five straight meetings and is 3-2 ATS since 2003 against Arizona, including this season’s 27-23 win against the Cards in October. The east coast was a disaster for Arizona in ‘08, as it went 0-5 SU and 1-4 ATS in its five visits. Meanwhile, the Panthers went 5-2-1 ATS at home and were the only team to win all eight of their games during the regular season.
Look for Carolina to continue those trends and march to the NFC Championship Game.
New York Giants vs. Philadelphia Eagles
NFC East rivals will meet in the Meadowlands when the Giants and Eagles do battle for the third time in this season. The Giants have been resting at home with their #1 overall seed assured since Week 16, while the Eagles bounced Minnesota with an impressive 26-14 win in the Metrodome last Sunday afternoon.
Both road teams picked up wins in this series this year, as the Giants won 36-31 at Philadelphia, while the Eagles won 20-14 at Giants Stadium. History is on Philadelphia’s side in this game, as it is 4-2 SU and ATS in New York since 2003. While the Giants only went 2-2 ATS down the stretch, the Eagles boast the hot hand winning five of their L/6 games both SU and ATS.
An upset could be in the cards if the defending champs aren’t careful this weekend.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. San Diego Chargers
RB Darren Sproles had the game of his life for the Chargers against Indianapolis Saturday night, running up the third most all-purposes yards in a playoff game in the history of the NFL. San Diego took Indy out with a 23-17 overtime victory. Expect to see a lot from Sproles this week against Pittsburgh, which has been resting patiently this week, hoping to see improvement from injured QB Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben expects to be good to go Sunday.
Earlier this season, these two teams met in Pittsburgh in what turned out to be the first 11-10 final in the history of the NFL. The Steelers picked up the victory, but the Chargers were the pointspread winners for NFL bettors.
After starting 4-8 through its first 13 games, nobody expected San Diego to be in the playoffs let alone two steps from the Super Bowl. The stage for the Chargers’ return to the AFC title game could be set with Roethlisberger’s injury and the fact that Pittsburgh went 0-4 ATS at home against playoff teams this season….
