For the most part, the four games this past weekend were entertaining. Even the Titans-Patriots game was competitive in the first half. Interest in the NFL and football betting is alive and well, folks. Three out of four home teams won. Let’s dive in to what we witnessed.
2018 NFL Divisional Playoffs Betting Recap
-The Falcons-Eagles game went pretty much as I expected it would. Yes, I did have the Falcons covering. And if Julio Jones doesn’t slip in the end zone at the end then maybe Matt Ryan hits him without having to roll out of the pocket. Philly won without scoring a touchdown and then celebrated after the game like they just won the Super Bowl. Never a good sign. You want to see a team act like they’ve been there before. For Atlanta, it’s a real shame. That defense did what it was supposed to do. And the Atlanta offense gave up on the run too early in the second half.
-The Patriots took a while to get going last week. Chalk it up to the bye week rust. Eventually, Tennessee showed just how sloppy they can be. Sure, they have a good offensive line and some intriguing pieces like Marriota and others, but they’re just not on the level of New England. This was the biggest spread of the weekend and the easiest cover, too.
-The Jags shocked me. They really did. We all know that they creamed Pittsburgh in Week 5. But did anyone expect what happened to happen again? It was a combo of the Steelers being too pass-happy early on which led to turnovers, and not having the defensive horses at linebacker to stop over-the-middle Bortles passes. Jacksonville went with a very short passing game and a ton of running to get the job done. I expect more of the same versus New England.
-The Saints are a resilient bunch. They should have won that game in Minnesota. But they also should have been blown out after the awful start that they had. Still, they’re a DB and a LB away from Super Bowl contention. The Vikings proved that Kase Keenum might be a long-term solution at QB. He was poised all the way until the end. I expect the Vikes to be ready for anything next week.
Matthew Ross is a sports commentator and a radio host on TSN 690 Radio in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Follow him @MatthewWords.