After last week’s wild-card round, the NFL season is down to the final eight teams. On to the divisional round, four games are set to determine the AFC and NFC championship games next week. We’ll look at the two games for Sunday, January 21. The Detroit Lions host the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Kansas City Chiefs head to Buffalo to clash with the Bills.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers versus Detroit Lions
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers won the NFC South with a regular season record of 9-8. They advanced in the playoffs after a dominating 32-9 win over the Philadelphia Eagles. The Detroit Lions won the NFC North with a regular season record of 12-5. They got past the scrappy Los Angeles Rams by a 24-23 score for their first playoff win since 1991. Detroit is a 6.5-point favorite with odds of -257 to +227 with an over/under of 49.5. Both teams are “burning hot” on the Team Strength Oscillator and the Lions have a +29 to +16 edge on the Power Ranks Indicator. The teams have been trending in games “under” the line but the score prediction is for a 56-point total with the Lions winning by a 39-17 margin. Detroit defeated Tampa Bay by a 20-6 score in their regular season meeting this season. Note that the Lions are a 5-star game-winner pick. Detroit has won 80 percent of their last five games as favorite and the Buccaneers have covered in their last five as an underdog. I like the Lions to advance to the NFC Championship game, wining by a touchdown in a game “under” the line.
Kansas City Chiefs versus Buffalo Bills
The Kansas City Chiefs won the AFC West with a regular season record of 11-6. They took down the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round by a score of 26-7. The Buffalo Bills won the AFC North with a regular season record of 11-6 after a five-game winning streak. They took down the Pittsburgh Steelers by a score of 31-17 to advance to the divisional round. The Bills are home favorites by 2.5-points with odds of -140 to +126 with an over/under of 45.5. Both teams enter play “burning hot” on the Team Strength Oscillator and the Bills have a +31 to +28 edge on the Power Ranks Indicator. Kansas City has been involved in games “under” the line in each of their last four, but the Bills have been involved in games “over” in four of their last five. Buffalo has won their last five as favorites and Kansas City has covered in four of their last five as underdogs. The score prediction is 31-17 in favor of Buffalo with 72 percent confidence. The Bills defeated the Chiefs by a 20-17 score on December 10 as a road underdog. I don’t think the Chiefs repeat as champions and their road stops here. Go with the Bills to win and cover in a game “over” the line.
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