We’ve made it to the NFL postseason!
After 17 weeks of football, the top 12 teams now enter the postseason gauntlet with one goal in mind — conquering all comers en route to the Super Bowl.
Meanwhile, gamblers enter these final weeks of football with a slightly different mindset, hoping to make the most of their last bets of the year before being forced to bet on the fickle nature of basketball and eventually hitting rock bottom throwing money down on baseball in the dog days of summer.
But never fear! There’s still plenty of bets to be had. After a successful season of gambling in which we went an impressive 129-118-9 against the spread while picking every game on the slate, a mark that put us ahead of six of the eight “experts” at CBS Sports, we’re back for the postseason to extend our profits even further.
Below we’re picking our best bets of the Wild Card weekend — including every game against the spread as well as two prop bets for each game of the weekend.
Since there are less games to bet, we’ll be tracking our gambling a bit differently this time around, making fictional bets with fictional dollars rather than simply making picks. Please take note that these are fictional picks — I do not advocate that you put down $ 880 this weekend unless you are extremely flush with cash. The dollar amounts are meant to serve as both an indicator of my confidence and what I’d be willing to risk on a given outcome if I was suddenly wealthy enough to gamble to my heart’s desire.
With that established, let’s get to the gambling!
All lines come courtesy of the Las Vegas Hilton SuperBook.
Tennessee Titans (+8.5) at Kansas City Chiefs (Saturday, 4:20 p.m. ET)
Peter Aiken/Getty Images
The bet: Chiefs -8.5 ($ 110 to win $ 100)
The logic: I haven’t believed in the Titans all season, and although they were able to put together four solid enough quarters against the Jaguars last week to make it to the postseason, I don’t see them putting together any sort of shocking playoff run.
The Chiefs have run hot and cold all year, but they have enough weapons to take care of the Titans, and as much as we’ve seen him blunder a time management situation to end a half, Andy Reid should have his team well prepared.
Over/Under 76.5 rushing yards for Kareem Hunt
Dustin Bradford/Getty Images
The bet: Over 76.5 yards ($ 55 to win $ 50)
The logic: I see the Chiefs jumping to a lead in this one and Kareem Hunt having a day as Kansas City looks to control the battle for time of possession. Hunt has had totals of 91, 155, and 116 rushing yards in his past three home games, and I expect him to put on another show for the fans at Arrowhead this weekend.
Over/Under 19.5 total completions for Marcus Mariota
Frederick Breedon/Getty Images
The bet: Over 19.5 completions ($ 55 to win $ 50)
The logic: The Titans dynamic rushing offense led by Derrick Henry and DeMarco Murray has made it so that Marcus Mariota does not have to be a focal point of a Tennessee win. But in losses, Mariota throws, and more throws leads to more receptions — Mariota has gotten to 20 completions in three of the Titans past four losses, and since I have the Tennessee losing this one, I like this bet a lot.
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