Early Look at NFL Divisional Round Odds & Betting Lines
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After Dak Prescott and the Cowboys sent Tom Brady into the sunset on Monday night, the NFL divisional round matchups are set. While wild-card weekend scored pretty low on the thrill-o-meter, the divisional round promises better. Down to just eight teams in the hunt for Super Bowl 57, the divisional round includes a renewal of an ancient rivalry between the No. 4 Dallas Cowboys and No. 2 San Francisco 49ers, plus an all-NFC East clash between the No. 6 New York Giants and No. 1 Philadelphia Eagles.
In the AFC, the Week 17 game that never was between the No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals and No. 2 Buffalo Bills will be replayed in Orchard Park, while the Cinderella of the dance, the No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars, visit the No. 1 Kansas City Chiefs.
Below, see the opening odds for each divisional-round game (listed in chronological order).
Opening Jaguars vs. Chiefs Odds
The Chiefs have opened as the biggest favorite of the divisional round, laying 8.5 points to the upstart Jaguars.
Jacksonville needed an epic 27-point comeback to defeat the Los Angeles Chargers at home last Saturday. Sophomore QB Trevor Lawrence threw four interceptions to go along with four TD passes.
The Chiefs, meanwhile, were at home resting, and the ubiquitous "Andy Reid after a bye" talk has already ramped up.
Opening Giants vs. Eagles Odds
The Eagles are the second-biggest favorites of the weekend, opening as 7.5-point chalk against NFC East-rival New York.
The Giants came into wild-card weekend as the biggest Super Bowl longshot at many sportsbooks, but were full value for their 31-24 road victory over No. 3 Minnesota. They erased an early touchdown by the Vikings before the quarter was out and never trailed thereafter, outgaining Minnesota by a wide margin in the game (431 total yards to 332). Fourth-year QB Daniel Jones played arguably the best game of this career in this first postseason start (24/31 for 301 yards, two TDs, and no picks).
The Eagles, like the Chiefs, earned a bye in the wild-card round as the conference's top seed. Philadelphia took both games from New York in the regular season: 48-22 on the road in Week 15 and 22-16 at home in Week 18 (when the Giants were resting starters, including Jones).
Opening Bengals vs. Bills Odds
The Bengals/Bills matchup has settled in at a line of 4.5 after opening at 5.5 and then dropping to 3.5.
Neither team looked good last weekend. The Bills let a 17-point lead slip away against a Miami Dolphins team that was reduced to Skylar Thompson at quarterback. But after falling behind 24-20, Buffalo QB Josh Allen rallied his troops for a 34-31 victory.
The Bengals, by all rights, should have found themselves trailing the Baltimore Ravens by a touchdown in the fourth quarter. Instead, Sam Hubbard produced a play that will be a staple of highlight shows for decades to come.
The Bengals defense locked the game down from there, but Cincinnati lost its third offensive lineman in as many weeks and never looked comfortable during their 24-17 victory.
Opening Cowboys vs. 49ers Odds
Many readers are likely too young to remember, but Cowboys vs 49ers was a staple of NFL playoffs in the early and mid-90s. Gone are the Troy Aikman vs Steve Young battles, replaced by ultra-talented but oft-injured Dak Prescott taking on stunning rookie Brock Purdy.
This is a matchup between the two most-impressive teams of last weekend. The 49ers looked a little shaky in the first half of their wild-card game against Seattle, trailing 17-16 at the half. But they throttled the Seahawks in every facet of the game in the second stanza, running away with a 41-24 win.
The Cowboys, meanwhile, finally beat Tom Brady (previously 0-7) and did so in statement fashion. Dallas scored the first 24 points of the game while its defense pitched a first-half shutout. The Bucs eventually got on the board in the second half, but the Cowboys' lead was never threatened during a 31-14 rout.
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