After wrapping up their regular-season schedule with a pair of disappointing straight-up losses, the Green Bay Packers hit the road to face the NFC East champion Washington Redskins on Wild Card Weekend as narrow one-point betting underdogs at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Since opening the season on a 6-0 straight up (SU) run Green Bay has lost six of 10, and enters Sunday afternoon’s Packers versus Redskins betting matchup at FedExField with a weak 1-4 SU record against playoff-bound opponents during that stretch.
The Redskins are riding a four-game SU win streak into their meeting with Green Bay, which ends a 20-game stretch in which they failed to record back-to-back SU victories. Amid low expectations, Washington has also flourished at the sportsbooks, posting outright wins in six of their past seven games as underdogs, and if the line holds will take the field as betting chalk for just the third time this season.
However, some trends do not favour the Redskins, who have just one SU victory in their past five post-season contests, and just one against-the-spread (ATS) win in their last eight games against Green Bay.
The Minnesota Vikings claimed the NFC North crown with a 20-13 win over Green Bay last weekend, and will host the Seattle Seahawks as seven-point betting underdogs this weekend.
The Vikings closed out their campaign with three convincing SU wins, covering by double digits in each, but face a Seattle squad that has won six of seven SU on the strength of a ferocious defence that has held opponents to seven or fewer points in three of their past five, including a 38-17 win in Minnesota in Week 13.
In AFC action, the Pittsburgh Steelers visit the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday night as 2.5-point chalk. The Steelers recovered from a poor first half to win six of their last eight SU, including a 33-20 road victory over the Bengals, who are just 1-5 SU in their past six home dates with Pittsburgh according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
In Saturday’s other AFC Wild Card matchup, the Kansas City Chiefs will be shooting for an 11th straight SU win when they visit the Houston Texans as 3.5-point road favourites. The Chiefs enter the post-season as the NFL’s hottest team, but will be under pressure to earn the team’s first playoff victory since 1994.
The Texans have won three straight, SU and ATS, and have never lost a playoff game at NRG Stadium, but dropped a 27-20 decision there to the Chiefs in Week 1.
