And then there were four. Rams, Chiefs, Patriots, Saints. The four remaining teams in this year’s NFL Playoffs have the league’s highest ranked offenses this year. That is the first time that has ever happened. Let’s take a quick look back at the action at Wannamakeabet.com from all four games this weekend in today’s Monday Morning NFL sports betting QB review.
Colts Disappoint
The Indianapolis Colts were a hot pick at Wannamakeabet.com and across the betting universe. Even our staff writer Jack Kincaid had a strong feeling the Colts could win the game. But the Colts were beaten badly by the Chiefs 31-13 in the first game of the weekend on Saturday afternoon. They could barely get a first down in the first half and their only good play was a blocked punt at the end of the half to cut the lead to 17-7. Andrew Luck looked horrible as he had multiple passes batted down at the line of scrimmage. And the Chiefs looked outstanding on both sides of the ball, especially with young star QB Patrick Mahomes. He’s clearly in a different league than the other young QBs in the league. And now. They host. The Patriots. The opening line at Wannamakeabet.com for the game is Chiefs -3 O/U 57 and we don’t expect to see that number change all week.
Rams Beat Dallas
The Los Angeles Rams came into the game as 7 point favorites over the Dallas Cowboys and won and covered the spread when they won the game 30-22. How’s that for a sharp line? The game was very close, in fact so close that it came down to a few key plays, including an untimely penalty on the Cowboys.
The Rams had yet to be stopped all game but the Cowboys appeared to get them off the field on a third-and-long incomplete pass. However, at the line of scrimmage, Byron Jones was flagged for illegal hands to the face when he quickly put his hand on Robert Woods’ face mask. The penalty gave the Rams an automatic first down and they were in the end zone just two plays later.
But the biggest play of the game was a fourth and 1 for the Cowboys that they could not convert and the play call seemed uninteresting. The whole stadium and everyone watching was expecting Zeke Elliott to get the ball. He did. And he was stopped. And Dallas lost the game. They didn’t trust Dak Prescott to throw in that situation. The Rams will now travel to New Orleans for the NFC Championship game to play the Saints. The line opened at Saints -3.5 and was quickly bet down and settled at 3, where it will likely remain for the rest of the week.
San Diego Flop
The Chargers were this year’s darling of the playoffs. They were an almost unanimous pick across both social and traditional media. Nobody thought the Patriots had anything left in the tank. Boy were they wrong. The Pats absolutely killed the Chargers and won and covered the 4 point closing line and beat the Chargers soundly 41-28.
Every single bet connected to San Diego did not win, especially the teasers. People love teasing the underdogs. In the case of the Colts and Chargers, they were both getting 18 points in the four team teasers, but it wasn’t enough. And New England showed there is still a lot of fight left in that dog. Patriots and the over was the winning ticket.
No More Magic For Philly
Philly came into New Orleans like they came into every big game the last two years. As the underdog. They were getting 8 points and as Jack Kincaid pointed out, it was more than enough points to love the Eagles as a bet. But how about to win the game? Well that looked good until the very end as well. Philly did everything they needed to in the 4th quarter to keep this game within reach. They even got a key sack on 3rd down when the Saints were in field goal range to push them back a few more yards. Saint kicker Will Lutz missed a field goal that would have given the Saints a 9 point lead and potential cover.
So Philly took possession with two minutes to go and started driving. Foles was pure magic. Completing passes as they moved down the field. Now they were in range to score. Alshon Jeffrey was the best and most reliable receiver on their team all year long. In fact, he only dropped three passes all year long when targeted. That’s why it was so shocking that the ball went through his hands and into the awaiting arms of a Saint defender in this final drive. Everyone in the building and watching on TV though the Eagles were going to score. It was supposed to come down to a Drew Brees drive to win the game. But the game ended on that play. And the Philly season was over. And the Saints are moving on to another NFC Championship game. Saints win and don’t cover the spread with a final score of 20-14.
That’s a wrap for our Monday Morning NFL Sports Betting QB this week. Make sure you check back with us later in the week for our predictions for the AFC and NFC Championship games.
Chase Knox is a senior NFL Staff writer for Wannamakeabet.com