Just 8 teams left as the NFL reaches divisional playoff weekend. History and logic tells us that the four home teams should have massive advantages. Not only are they at home by virtue of having the best regular season records, but they also sat out last week’s wildcard round leaving them refreshed and well-planned.
That should afford the San Francisco 49ers the edge against the Minnesota Vikings in this weekend’s opener. Indeed the No1 seeded 49ers should get past the No6 seeded Vikings. That said this has the makings of a tight match with the elite pecking order in the NFC having been unclear all season.
The Vikings came through a mighty test at New Orleans last weekend, and although they may struggle to pull off another shock here, they looked dynamic enough on both sides of the ball to land a few blows. Running back Dalvin Cook looked in particularly sparkling form, and he looks value to be the first across the whitewash this evening.
The late game sees a clash of former college stars with two Heismann trophy winners in opposition. We love Tennessee Titans‘ runaway truck Derrick Henry after he landed our 16/1 tip for year’s leading rusher, and he went further into our good books when rolling over everyone’s favourite bad guys, the Patriots, last weekend. But fellow college MVP Lamar Jackson has had an even more devastating year as QB to the No1 seeded Baltimore Ravens.
Jackson is the ultimate dual threat, racking up the most running yards by a QB in any NFL season. We suspect his threat with his feet will be the primary focus of the Titans defence. If they seek to crowd him out, then the quick drop passes to running back Mark Ingram could be a very attractive option. Ingram offers that threat as well as being the primary short yardage battering ram. He looks value to open affairs in this tie.
We’ll cover our options by adding the anytime scorer double to the portfolio.
Recommendations:
Dalvin Cook to score first touchdown (Vikings at 48ers), 1pt win, 8/1 Bet365, Boyles
Mark Ingram to score first touchdown (Titans at Ravens), 1pt win, 7/1 Unibet
Cook and Ingram, anytime touchdown scorer, 1pt win double, c3/1
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