NFL Wild Card Weekend Recap

The Philadelphia Eagles looked every bit like one of the favorites in the race to the 2008 – 2009 Super Bowl by thrashing the Minnesota Vikings on the road.

But another team named after a bird didn’t fare so well.

Let’s re-cap every single game during the NFL Wildcard Weekend!

NFL Wildcard Weekend Re-cap

Philadelphia Eagles vs. Minnesota Vikings - - The Vikings were 3 points online sports betting underdogs against the BetUS online wagering spread in this one, and for good reason. The Eagles absolutely thrashed the Vikings by a score of 26 to 14. I say thrash because that Eagles’ defense was extremely effective blitzing Vikes’ quarterback Tarvaris Jackson. Save for a brilliant touchdown run in the first half, the Eagles defense kept Adrian Peterson in check. What’s scarier for the team facing the Eagles next week, that’s the New York Giants, is the fact that the Eagles played well without Brian Westbrook, their motor on offense, having a terrific game. The Vikings did win the NFC North, so they should be proud of themselves, but without a real starting quarterback, they really had no chance in this game.

Baltimore Ravens vs. Miami Dolphins - - As an NFL betting fan I was extremely disappointed in the Miami Dolphins in this game. They were shut-down on offense and their defense played badly against a rookie quarterback. Miami was 3 ½ point underdogs in this. The Ravens proved why by beating the hell out of the Dolphins 27 to 9. Even though Miami made a nice effort to get back into the game in the fourth quarter, this game was over once the Ravens built a 10 point lead. The Ravens defense looks phenomenal for the rest of the playoffs while Miami has something to build on in the off-season. The Dolphins have to find a way to keep Chad Pennington from running for his life and they need a playmaker in the secondary. As for the Ravens, they’re starting to resemble that team in 2000 that won the Super Bowl with Trent Dilfer at quarterback.

Atlanta Falcons vs. Arizona Cardinals - - The Falcons had a lead going into the third quarter in this game but they failed miserably against the spread as 1 point favorites and straight-up by losing to Arizona 31 to 24. Matty “Ice” Ryan made some rookie mistakes in this game as the Falcons’ signal caller while Kurt Warner played a decent game. The Cardinals look like serious contenders after Edgerrin James found his running shoes and that Cardinals defense stepped up big time. They shot down Pro Bowl running back Michael Turner. That was probably the main reason they won the game.

Indianapolis Colts vs. San Diego Chargers - - The Chargers had to fight their butts off just to get into the playoffs while the Colts were riding a 9 game winning streak. It really didn’t matter in the one and done philosophy of the NFL Playoffs. As 1 point online betting underdogs, the Colts sure looked like a good wager against the BetUS online betting spread, but they turned out to be a terrible bet because they lost in overtime to the Chargers. That’s the second season in a row where the Chargers have dumped the Colts. Now, the NFL Playoffs is without its reigning MVP and the Chargers move on as an 8 and 8 divisional winner.