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The NFL Playoffs start on Saturday, January 5 with an AFC and NFC Wild Card battle. The Wild Card round finishes on Sunday, January 6. Here is a look at the brackets:
Playoff Brackets
Odds and Matchups
- Colts +2
- Texans -2
- Seahawks +2.5
- Cowboys -2.5
- Chargers +2.5
- Ravens -2.5
- Eagles +6
- Bears -6
Odds per OddsShark.
Why Bears Are The Biggest Favorites
Chicago finished the season on a four-game winning streak. Along with the Indianapolis Colts, who are also on the same roll, the Bears have the longest streaks in the NFL. They are playing at home with the league’s best defense against a team with a number of injuries at the quarterbacl position.
The Bears are as confident a bunch as there is in the league.
ESPN.com’s Jeff Dickerson wrote: “The challenge of taking on the defending Super Bowl champions is always daunting, but the Bears are dripping with confidence. For a team that hasn’t reached the postseason since 2010, the Bears have carried themselves like a perennial playoff team under head coach Matt Nagy, who only strengthened the team’s bond by his decision to forgo resting starters in order to end the Vikings’ season.”
The Eagles are the defending champions and they have been playing better, but this Bears team is clicking on all cylinders. It’s safe to say, the New Orleans Saints might be the only team in the NFC that would be the favorite against them.
Perhaps that’s the game we’ll in the NFC Championship Game.
Chargers Are The Best Road Team
No road team is a favorite this weekend, but if there is a squad that has proven capable of winning away from home it’s the Los Angeles Chargers. Not only has Philip Rivers and Co. finished the season with a 12-4 record, the Bolts were 7-1 on the road.
While they dropped a Week 16 clash at home with the same Baltimore Ravens team they’ll face on the road, both squads have to know that things can be different the second time around.
Chargers safety Derwin James talked about his team’s willingness to battle on the road.
“We love coming into your place — whichever team you may be — and doing our thing,” the rookie safety said. “We come into your place ready to play. Our motto around here is ‘Any squad, any place,’ that’s what we say around here.
“Playing at Pittsburgh, Kansas City and Seattle at the beginning of the season was big for us. We’ve played in all of those hostile environments, and it helped us.”
Confidence is huge, but subduing Lamar Jackson and moving the football against a resurgent Ravens defense is something different. This game could be one of the most entertaining of the weekend, and don’t sleep on the Chargers’ chances to pull the upset in B-More.
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