The NFL Playoffs begin this weekend with two Wild Card games on Saturday followed by two more on Sunday. The Saturday games have the Arizona Cardinals at the Carolina Panthers on ESPN while the Baltimore Ravens visit the Pittsburgh Steelers on NBC. The Sunday games feature the Cincinnati Bengals at the Indianapolis Colts on CBS and the Detroit Lions at the Dallas Cowboys on FOX. Let’s look at some NFL trends for Wild Card weekend.
Wild Card Weekend
Many people think that teams that play on Wild Card weekend have no chance of winning the Super Bowl, but that is simply not the case. Six of the past nine Super Bowl winners have played on Wild Card weekend, including three of the past four. The Steelers won the Super Bowl a decade ago as a Wild Card team and in 2006 it was the Colts while Giants did it in 2007 and 2011, the Packers in 2010 and the Ravens in 2012.
–Saturday, January 3rd–
Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers
The underdog is 5-2 ATS in the last seven meetings in this series. The Cardinals are 5-1 ATS in their last six playoff games. The Panthers are 1-5 ATS in their last six games in January. The Over is 4-0 in the Cardinals last four playoff games. The Under is 3-1-1 in the Panthers last five games in January.
Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers
The Ravens are 1-3-1 against the NFL betting odds in their last five meetings in Pittsburgh. The Ravens are 4-0 ATS in their last four wild card games. The Steelers are 6-0 ATS in their last six playoff home games. The Over is 11-4-1 in the last 16 meetings in Pittsburgh. The Over is 5-0 in the Steelers last five wild card games. The Under is 6-1 in the Ravens last seven wild card games.
Sunday, January 4th
Cincinnati Bengals at Indianapolis Colts
The Under is 4-0 in the last four meetings in this series at Indianapolis. The home team is 5-1 ATS in the last six meetings. The Bengals are 2-5 ATS in their last seven meetings at Indianapolis. The Bengals are 0-5 ATS in their last five wild card games. The Colts are 1-4 ATS in their last five playoff games. The Under is 4-1 in the Colts last five wild card games.
Detroit Lions at Dallas Cowboys
The underdog is 4-1 against the NFL betting odds in the last five meetings in this series. The Cowboys are 2-6 ATS in their last eight playoff games. The Over is 5-0 in the last five meetings in this series and the Over is 4-1 in the last five in Dallas.
