NFL odds, picks, lines, spreads for Wild Card Weekend
The 2022 NFL regular season is over and we now shift our focus to the playoffs. Personally, Wild Card weekend is my favorite weekend of the NFL season as we have two full days of playoff football and an extra Monday Night Football game.
Kicking things off on Saturday, we have the San Francisco 49ers hosting the Seattle Seahawks followed by the Los Angeles Chargers and the Jacksonville Jaguars in primetime. On Sunday at 1 p.m. ET, the Miami Dolphins head north to take on the Buffalo Bills, then the New York Giants fly to Minnesota for a Week 16 rematch. To close out the night, we have an AFC North rivalry between the Baltimore Ravens and Cincinnati Bengals.
Lastly, on Monday Night Football, the Dallas Cowboys take on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Let’s get into some of our favorite against-the-spread bets for this weekend.
All odds via FanDuel Sportsbook
Wild Card Weekend Lines
- Seattle Seahawks @ San Francisco 49ers: -9.5
- Los Angeles Chargers @ Jacksonville Jaguars: +2.5
- Miami Dolphins @ Buffalo Bills: -13.5
- New York Giants @ Minnesota Vikings: -3
- Baltimore Ravens @ Cincinnati Bengals: -10
- Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +2.5
NFL Best Bets
Los Angeles Chargers @ Jacksonville Jaguars
The Chargers and Jaguars are most notably known for their young, rising star quarterbacks. Both Justin Herbert and Trevor Lawrence have the potential to be top signal callers in the NFL for a long time. If I were starting a franchise today, there are very few quarterbacks I would pick before Lawrence and Herbert.
However, the two quarterbacks are overshadowing how well their teams’ defenses are playing recently. In the last five games, the Chargers are allowing only 15 points per game and 284.8 total yards per game. With Joey Bosa back on the field, I expect the Chargers’ pass rush to be all over Lawrence on Saturday night.
Jacksonville’s defense is playing just as well as the Chargers’ unit. In their last five contests, they are only averaging 15.8 points allowed per game and only 315 total yards.
Herbert and Lawrence are young stars but are making their playoff debuts this weekend. There could be some early jitters from them keeping this a low-scoring game.
I anticipate the defense’s momentum to carry over to Saturday and keep this game under the total.
The play: Under 47.5
Dallas Cowboys @ Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are taking advantage of playing in an easy division. With a losing 8-9 record, Tampa gets a home playoff game against a team with 12 wins. This could be a big advantage for Todd Bowles and the Bucs.
The Buccaneers’ offense has not been what we are accustomed to with Tom Brady under center. Brady only threw 25 touchdown passes to go along with nine interceptions in 17 games this year. In the regular season, Tampa Bay only scored 18 points per game which ranked 25th in the NFL. They had a down year by Tom Brady’s standards but I anticipate them picking it up come playoff time.
Tampa Bay’s defense is the biggest reason I think the Bucs can win this game. They gave up only 324 yards per game in the regular season, which was the ninth-best in the league. The Bucs will be getting a big boost this week with Carlton Davis returning.
With Dallas struggling mightily last week on offense against Washington, it will not get any easier on Monday night. I think this is a good spot for Tampa’s defense to show up and lead the Bucs to another playoff win.
I will back Tom Brady as a home underdog anytime, especially in the postseason.
The play: Tampa Bay Buccaneers +2.5
