NFL odds, lines, point spreads: Updated playoff betting information for picking every divisional game

The wild-card round of the 2022 NFL playoffs wasn’t quite as wild as some may have expected. The 49ers pulled off an upset of the Cowboys, but aside from that, most of the favorites were able to win handily and cover in the process. Now, bettors will look to see if that continues as the lines tighten up in the divisional round.

As the 14-team playoff field thins to eight, there will be no more double-digit underdogs, barring some unexpected quarterback injury or COVID outbreak. Most of the point spreads will stay within one possession, and that will make every half-point line move that much more consequential.

This is the time of year to keep a laser-sharp focus on the betting lines and odds while examining as many trends as you can about the playoff field. This is the time to take advantage of the plethora of previous results that these teams have racked up, as their season-long trends can certainly tell gamblers something as they prepare to bet these critical contests.

Injuries will always be consequential as well. The offensive players get all the love, and Derrick Henry will be the big name to watch this week, but don’t forget to look at defensive injuries as well. The Bengals are dealing with a lot of defensive line problems while the 49ers’ two best defensive players suffered injuries against the Cowboys and may be questionable for their matchup against the Packers. Simply put, just read the injury report daily and react accordingly as more news comes out about their respective statuses.

For more expert NFL predictions, check out Sporting News’ picks straight up and against the spread for the NFL’s divisional round.

DIVISIONAL ROUND PICKS: Against the spread | Straight up

NFL odds for divisional round

Below are the latest NFL odds for the divisional round, including point spreads, money lines and over-under totals for every game, according to FanDuel Sportsbook.

Last updated: Tuesday, Jan. 18.

NFL point spreads divisional round

NFL money lines divisional round

NFL over-unders divisional round

NFL best bets for divisional round

Rams (+4) at Buccaneers

Betting against Tom Brady is never an easy thing to do, but if ever there was a spot to do it, this is the one.

The Buccaneers are missing a lot of key offensive personnel for this game. The absences of Chris Godwin and Antonio Brown will draw most of the attention, as the Bucs will be relying more heavily on Mike Evans and Rob Gronkowski, but the biggest potential absence is that of Tristan Wirfs.

Wirfs suffered an ankle injury in Tampa Bay’s wild-card win over the Eagles. He limped off the field and into the locker room early in the contest. He attempted to return but was unable to do so.

Wirfs is the Buccaneers’ best offensive lineman and doesn’t allow much pressure on Tom Brady. That has been critical in helping Tampa Bay win this season, as the Buccaneers posted a record of just 1-3 in games where Brady was sacked three-plus times. And their lone win came against the Falcons in a game that was close before Matt Ryan imploded late, as Atlanta allowed 20 points in the final quarter and scored none.

Granted, the Bucs just crushed the Eagles by 16 with Wirfs sitting most of the game and Brady getting sacked four times. That said, the Rams are a better-rounded team than the Eagles. Matthew Stafford is a better quarterback than Jalen Hurts and should be able to score earlier in the game than Philly did (the Eagles went scoreless until the fourth quarter).

More importantly, Los Angeles’ defense is well-suited to match up with the Buccaneers as it’s currently constructed. Von Miller and Leonard Floyd can take advantage of Wirfs’ potential absence and get pressure on Brady. Aaron Donald will come after Brady up the middle, something that the veteran quarterback hates dealing with. And Jalen Ramsey can help to take away, or at least limit, Mike Evans.

With all that said, if Wirfs can’t play, the fading the Bucs seems like the right move. Could they win the game? Sure. They should still be favored even if Wirfs is out. But would it be surprising to see them lose, or play a close game against a playoff team? That’s a question worth asking.

The underdogs are getting more than three points here, so that makes this appealing. This contest has the feel of one that will be decided by a point or twol, so rolling with the Rams makes sense as they are both good values.

Titans (-3.5) vs. Bengals

What’s the No. 1 thing you want to avoid when playing the Titans? You can’t let them run the ball at will. Tennessee may well have a chance to do that because of the key injuries that the Bengals are dealing with on their defensive line.

Cincinnati lost numerous defensive linemen during their seven-point win over the Raiders. Starting defensive tackle Larry Ogunjobi suffered a foot injury and has been ruled out for the season. Backup tackle Mike Daniels suffered a groin injury that will likely cause him to miss the rest of the season as well.

Worst of all, star defensive end Trey Hendrickson is in concussion protocol. He could recover within the week and return to action, but if he doesn’t, the Bengals are going to be significantly shorthanded up front, especially at defensive tackle, as top backup Josh Tupou is also dealing with an injury.

The Titans can absolutely take advantage of those defensive absences. Their offensive line is shaky in pass protection but is among the best run-blocking units in the NFL, with right tackle David Quessenberry owning the fifth-best run-blocking grade among offensive tackles, per PFF. So, the Titans are going to be positioned to get a lot of push against the Bengals, dominate the line of scrimmage and control the clock with their running game.

That will be especially true if Derrick Henry is able to return to action this week. Henry opened his practice window last Wednesday and has a legitimate shot to play for the first time since he suffered a foot injury against the Colts back in Week 8. He would feast against the banged-up Bengals defensive line.

The Bengals have a nice matchup with their receiving corps against the Titans’ middling cornerback group, but we saw the Raiders limit the Bengals in the red-zone last week to keep the game close. If the Titans’ defense can pressure Burrow and force some three-and-outs, it may prove difficult for the Bengals offense to get into much of a rhythm.

Bills (+2.5) at Chiefs

This is not a favorable line with which to bet the underdog, but the Bills are a great matchup for the Chiefs in this spot. They play the type of defense that can give Kansas City and Patrick Mahomes plenty of trouble, and their offense should do enough to keep pace with them if this becomes a shootout.

That said, this is all about the Bills’ defense. They were the best stop-unit in the NFL during the regular season and led the league in yards allowed and points allowed. When they played the Chiefs early in the season, they held Kansas City to just 20 total points.

The Chiefs have certainly changed since that point, but one thing hasn’t. The Bills’ ability to get pressure without having to blitz. Buffalo leads the NFL in pressure rate, getting pressure on 30.8 percent of opponent dropbacks. That said, the Bills blitz just 26 percent of the time, good for the 13th-highest rate in the NFL.

What does that mean? The Bills are able to get pressure on quarterbacks consistently with just four pass rushers. That means they can play seven players in coverage, and that’s something that Mahomes has struggled against. If you can take away the big play and get pressure on Mahomes, he tends to be significantly less accurate.

Mahomes’ completion percentage under pressure in general is just 41.8 percent while his turnover-worthy play percentage is 4.8 under pressure. However, when blitzed, he completes 71.3 percent of his passes with a 0.8 turnover-worthy play percentage. So, in essence, you need to pressure Mahomes to slow the Chiefs’ offense down. But you can’t do it at the expense of one of the players you have in coverage. Otherwise, he’ll tear you apart.

It’s never fun betting against a top-tier quarterback like Mahomes, but he is playing another top-five NFL quarterback in Josh Allen. The Bills scored on each of their possessions against the Patriots last week, too, and while they may not be that efficient against a strong Kansas City stop unit, they can definitely do enough to cover this spread.

It would be nice to get a +3 here, as we would at least push if this is decided by a field goal, but the Bills could win this outright, so getting them as 2.5-point underdogs is a solid move. BetQL agrees with us. Their model rates this as a five-star bet as they believe the Chiefs should be favored by just 1.5 points. That’s a whole point of line value, so we’ll happily snap that up.

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