N.F.L. Playoff Predictions: Our Picks in the Wild-Card Round

The betting markets are just coming into full bloom before the N.F.L. playoffs. The money is more evenly distributed than usual and there is less fluctuation in the point spreads and totals. Baltimore and Miami both expected to play without their franchise quarterbacks and uncertainty over which of their backups would start.

No. 7 Seattle Seahawks play No. 2 San Francisco 49ers in the Wild-Card Round.

The 49ers and Seahawks are playing in the Wild-Card Round. The 49er's have won 10 straight games. Seattle is in its 10th consecutive playoff game. San Francisco won the regular-season meetings. The Seahawks lost two key players to injury. They are favored to win. Their quarterback is Geno Smith. He is accurate on passes over 20 yards.

No. 5 Los Angeles Chargers at No. 4 Jacksonville Jaguars in the Wild-Card Round on NBC at 8:15 p.m.

The Jaguars have won six of their last seven games. The last time the teams met in Week 3, the Jaguars won 38-10. Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence are the quarterbacks for the Chargers. They play each other in the Wild-Card Round. The market split nearly down the middle on this game. We will take all the points on the home team.

No. 7 Miami Dolphins play No. 2 Buffalo Bills in the Wild-Card Round on Sunday at 1 p.m. on CBS.

Bills and Dolphins split their two games this season. Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is out injured. The Dolphins won the season finale against the Jets 11-6. Bills are the second-ranked defense. It's going to be cold at kickoff. Bills will show out for a home crowd.

No. 6 Giants at No. 3 Minnesota Vikings, 4:30 p.m. on Fox.

The Vikings won 11 one-score games and the Giants went 8-4-1 in such games. The Vikings beat the New York Giants on a last-second field goal and two takeaways. This week, the Vikings have torched the defense through the air. 90 percent of the money bet on this game has been on the NY Giants.

No. 6 Baltimore Ravens play No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals in the Wild-Card Round.

Bengals beat Ravens 27-16 on Sunday. Lamar Jackson is expected to miss the game with a sprained knee ligament. Anthony Brown has taken starter snaps during practice. The line has shrunk to 7. Bengals are 20-3-1 against the spread going back to last season. Bengals won eight straight games. Ravens rested tight end Mark Andrews and running back J.K. Dobbins last week.

Dallas Cowboys play Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the Wild-Card Round on Sunday at 8 p.m. on ESPN.

The Buccaneers are the underdogs against the Cowboys. The market hasn't been impressed with the Dallas Cowboys, but the betting market has been. The Buccaneers have been on the wrong side of nearly every one of their games this season. If they don't cover this week, it will be the last time. They are favored by 2.5 points. It is possible that the game will go to overtime. This is a game that could decide the No. 1 seed in the N.F.C.L.

The betting lines work as follows. Favorites are listed next to a negative number that represents how many points they must win by to cover the spread. Tampa Bay must beat the Seahawks by at least 3 points to win their bet. The total score is whether the teams' combined score in the game is over or under a preselected number of points.