It was a wild season in the NFL, but the playoff bracket is set with quite a few new teams in contention.
The Dolphins, Chargers, Vikings, and Jaguars are making their first playoff appearances in quite some time, and after missing last year's postseason, both the Ravens and Seahawks are back in action.
It's always refreshing to see new teams on Wild Card Weekend, but how will they fare?
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Wild Card Weekend - Saturday
Kicking things off are the Seattle Seahawks and San Fransisco 49ers. Despite playing with their third-string quarterback, the 49ers are a (-9.5) favorite. San Francisco has already defeated Seattle twice this season, and beating a team three times is extremely difficult. Bettors should count out the birds the pull off an upset; at the very least, they will cover this game.
Seattle +9.5 (-110)
Saturday night's game will see the Chargers visiting the Jaguars. Jacksonville routed the Chargers earlier in the season, 38-10. With both teams entering the postseason playing exceptionally well, it will be a tightly contested game, but the Chargers should exact their revenge.
Pick: Los Angeles -2.5 (-110)
Wild Card Weekend - Sunday
The Miami Dolphins are another team playing with their third-string quarterback. However, Skylar Thompson has not looked as strong as Brock Purdy. The Bills are going to run roughshod over this Miami team, and Josh Allen might not even have to play the second half. Bettors may consider an alternate line in this one, as it will be a routing.
Pick: Buffalo -13.5 (-110)
The Vikings taking on the Giants on Sunday is an interesting game. The Giants struggled in the second half of the season, but the Vikings have been a magical team all season long, pulling off incredible wins. Their magic has to run out at some point, but they should have what it takes to make it past this mediocre New York Squad.
Pick: Minnesota -3 (-110)
In another divisional matchup, the Bengals play the Ravens on Sunday night. Cincinnati clobbered the Ravens last week, but Baltimore was playing with their third-string quarterback.
Lamar Jackson was upgraded to questionable for this game. The Ravens will easily cover if he plays and could pull off an upset. However, it will be a rerun of last week's game if he is unavailable come Sunday.
Pick: Bengals -8.5 (-110)
Wild Card Weekend - Monday
Closing out the weekend is the Dallas Cowboys and the Tampa Bay Buccanneers. The Buccs are limping into the playoffs with a losing record. However, that poor record was good enough for them to win the NFC South and host a playoff game.
While this seems like an easy matchup on paper, I am betting on Brady to come alive in the playoffs, and the Cowboys do what they do best, choke. It should be a solid game, but expect an upset from the home team.
Pick: Buccaneers (+120)
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