NFL Wildcard Round: Preview, Odds, and Predictions

It will be a very Wild Card Weekend after the last Sunday of the NFL regular season that was full of excitement with playoff implications.

Two teams in the playoffs earned a rest week as they finished atop their respective conferences. The Green Bay Packers could take it easy as they had already locked in the top seed, while the Tennessee Titans had to fight through a challenging game against the Houston Texans to secure the top spot in the AFC.

AFC: Kansas City Chiefs vs. Pittsburgh Steelers

In what will likely be the last game for Steelers' QB Ben Roethlisberger, Pittsburgh will face the No.2 Kansas City Chiefs. After a slow start at 3-4, the Chiefs bounced back to win nine of their last ten games.

Quarterback Patrick Mahomes found his groove in Week 14, and since then, he's thrown for 12 touchdowns and just one interception with over 258 passing yards in each game. On Sunday, Pittsburgh scored 16 points in a hard-fought battle with the Ravens. They will have an almost sure defeat to the Chiefs in this one. 

NFL Wild Card Odds: The Chiefs are heavy favorites in this one, with bookmaker bet365 Sports posting odds at 1.14. The Steelers are at an even 6.00 for the win.

Buffalo Bills vs. New England Patriots

During the regular season, the Patriots and the Bills split their series. The big difference was that in Week 16, the Bills destroyed New England’s defense, scoring 33 points and 428 yards. QB Josh Allen threw for an impressive 314 yards and three touchdowns, and they ran for 114 yards and a TD.

Expect the Bills to beat the Patriots in this one. The odds at bet365 Sports are 1.47 for the Bills and 2.75 for the Patriots. 

Cincinnati Bengals vs. Las Vegas Raiders

The Raiders are hereafter an OT victory on Sunday over the Chargers. This will be one of the most challenging games to predict over the weekend, as both teams finished the regular season with a record of 10-7. The Raiders have a 4-game win streak, while the Bengals lost their last game of the season. This one could go either way, but we'll give it to the Raiders to advance. 

At bet365 Sports, the Bengals are at 1.41, and Las Vegas is at 3.00 for the underdog win. 

Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Philadelphia Eagles

Two of Tom Brady's best receivers will be out this game - Chris Godwin is out with a torn ACL and will not return this year, while Antonio Brown has once again caused a stir, and the team sidelined him for an altercation last week. Even without them, Brady will have a few solid, Pro-bowl options to pass to Rob Gronkowski and Mike Evens, which will be enough to send the Eagles home. 

Expect a Bucs win, and bet365 agrees at 1.23, while the Eagles are at 4.25. 

Dallas Cowboys vs. San Francisco 49ers

The San Francisco 49ers must find a way to slow down the Cowboys' No. 1-ranked scoring offense. The Cowboys are on fire, and it will either be a very high-scoring game, or respective defenses will keep the score low. Another close game to call, but the 49ers have a great chance of winning. 

This is yet another underdog prediction for the 49ers as bet365 Sports has listed them at 2.45, while the Cowboys are at 1.60.

Los Angeles Rams vs. Arizona Cardinals

The Rams and Cardinals split the season series, with each club winning on the road. This will be one of the best games of the weekend, but you can expect the Rams to come out on top and advance. 

The Rams are at 1.52 at bet365 Sports, while the Cardinals are at 2.67.

The odds in this article at the bookmaker mentioned were accurate as of January 12 at 8:00 GMT.