2008 Round 1 NFL Playoffs Odds & Lines
June 12, 2008
It was during the mid-80s to the mid-90s that the tables were turned from how things stand today and the NFC Championship seemed to be the real Super Bowl every year. That was back in the days of the dynasty and the San Francisco 49ers, New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys all had great squads. And on the other side, the Denver Broncos, Buffalo Bills and even the New England Patriots were just showing up waiting to get destroyed.
However, these days we no longer do we see NFC teams strike fear into the AFC side of the league. In fact it’s the other way around as the NFC has been the underdog in the last five straight Super Bowl matchups, and we have a tough time believing that is going to change this year.
Right now, at SportsBetting.com and other leading sportsbooks the Super Bowl line is set with the AFC as an 11-point favorite and the general public seems to be all over the favorite with 85% of the action falling for the AFC. It’s clear to us that the betting public feels the New England Patriots or whoever else might make it, will have little trouble of winning the Super Bowl once they get there.
The total right now on the Super Bowl is set at 55, again largely based on the fact the everyone thinks the Patriots are going to make it and they are the highest scoring team in league history.
NFL Wild-Card Games
Looking at this weekend’s NFL first round matchups, the early action is coming in on a pair of NFC underdogs.
62% of the action is coming in on the Washington Redskins as a 3.5-point road underdog. The Seahawks are getting little love as the home favorite. Seattle hosted a playoff game in 2007, but the Seahawks found a way not to the two point chalk against the Dallas Cowboys. Back in 2006, Seattle did win their backers money in both of their home playoff games. One trend that you should take note of for this game is that Seattle has gone under four of their last five home playoff games and Washington has three straight unders in their last three road playoff games.
59% of the bettors are also taking the other NFC underdog in the New York Giants. Bettors seem to think they won’t have trouble with the 2.5 points they are getting as they head down to Tampa Bay
Over in the AFC, the bettors seem to feel good about the favorites moving on with Jacksonville getting a lot of love. The Jaguars are seeing 70% of the volume over at SportsBetting.com as a road favorite at Pittsburgh. Jacksonville hasn’t covered the spread though in their last three road playoff games. However, the Steelers have not been a profitable team to back on home field in the playoffs as of late, going 1-6 ATS in their last seven starts at Heinz Field in the playoffs.
The San Diego Chargers are the biggest favorite of the playoffs’ opening weekend, currently sitting at –9 at SportsBetting.com in their matchup with the Tennessee Titans. The early action is on the Chargers as people don’t see a problem laying nearly double digits, nearly 61% of the money falls on San Diego.
It doesn’t seem like the teams this weekend have a real great shot at winning it all, with the Super Bowl odds at SportsBetting.com showing San Diego has having the best chance at 10-1. The team they are playing in the Titans have the toughest shot at 100-1.
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