2020 NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round betting odds, opening spreads
The Divisional Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs is upon us and the opening betting odds, point spreads and Over/Under totals for each game are out.
Hopefully you were riding the underdogs if you were betting on Wild Card Weekend of the 2020 NFL Playoffs. Of the four matchups on the docket, only one favorite (the Houston Texans) managed to cover. And even the Texans made sure to force you to sweat it out as they fell down big early and needed a field goal in overtime to get into the Divisional Round past the Buffalo Bills.
Put simply, the Wild Card Round was fueled by big upsets as the Tennessee Titans and Minnesota Vikings shocked the world by toppling the New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints, respectively. Meanwhile, the Seattle Seahawks went on the road and got their own victory over Philadelphia. But will this trend of underdog uprisings continue into the Divisional Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs?
It’s impossible to answer that with any kind of certainty — what would be the point of betting odds and wagers if that were the case? However, we do now know what the matchups and the opening lines are for the Divisional Round of the 2020 NFL Playoffs, so let’s take a look.
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All lines and odds are courtesy of The Action Network.
6 Minnesota Vikings at 1 San Francisco 49ers
Spread: 49ers -6.5 | Over/Under: 45
Kirk Cousins and the Vikings clearly showed the oddsmakers something in the Wild Card Round. That’s not to say that they weren’t a good team in the regular season but, considering that Minnesota opened up as 7.5-point underdogs against New Orleans, now going on the road again against a higher seed and being smaller underdogs shows an increase in respect.
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Having said that, the first look at this line does make you wonder if this is still a trap to not believe in Jimmy Garoppolo and the 49ers. It’s still a sizeable line and that might scare some bettors away from taking San Francisco in their first playoff run with this new look.
While that may be true, the defense of the Niners is better-suited than the Saints were to really cause Cousins, Dalvin Cook and the Vikings problems.
6 Tennessee Titans at 1 Baltimore Ravens
Spread: Ravens -10 | Over/Under: 48
Considering that we just witnessed the Tennessee Titans put the ball in Derrick Henry‘s hand and let him run over the Patriots dynasty, it’s a little bit shocking that Mike Vrabel‘s team is now a double-digit underdog. Yes, they’re facing the likely NFL MVP, Lamar Jackson, and his Baltimore Ravens. But that’s still a massive point spread for the NFL Playoffs.
However, this is very much a line where oddsmakers are trying to protect themselves. Because the Ravens have been so good this season, they should be heavy favorites. If the line was -9 or -9.5, however, sportsbooks would get absolutely hammered with money on Baltimore until the line was pushed to -10. Thus, they open it there to try and protect themselves from that.
4 Houston Texans at 2 Kansas City Chiefs
Spread: Chiefs -9.5 | Over/Under: 48.5
On one hand, Deshaun Watson showed that you can’t count out the Houston Texans — even in the NFL Playoffs — if he’s on the field with his late-game heroics to push his team past Buffalo. On the other hand, they got worked by the Bills for 30 minutes and now have to go on the road to a cold, raucous Arrowhead Stadium and face Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs.
Thus, seeing this line already near double digits in favor of the home team shouldn’t be all that surprising. What’s more surprising is seeing the Over/Under total just 0.5 points higher than Titans-Ravens. Perhaps that’s the weather, faith in a revamped and healthy Chiefs defense or a combination of other things. Nonetheless, it’s quite curious to see.
5 Seattle Seahawks at 2 Green Bay Packers
Spread: Packers -4 | Over/Under: 46
Clearly, the oddsmakers aren’t buying the Green Bay Packers as a 13-3 team. There has been talk for much of the year that Aaron Rodgers and his compatriots have left something to be desired and, now that they are favored by only four points at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round of the NFL Playoffs, that narrative is only continuing.
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What makes the line more intriguing, however, is that Russell Wilson and the Seahawks weren’t exactly world-beaters against a depleted Eagles team on Wild Card Weekend. Maybe that’s how little belief there is in the Packers but I’d expect that many will attack this line while the Packers are still narrow favorites.