Vikings vs. Rams, Chargers vs. Texans prediction: NFL wild card round odds, picks
Post sports gambling editor/producer and digital sports editor Matt Ehalt is in his first season in the NFL Bettor’s Guide. This line is a little spooky since the Vikings are clearly the better team.Minnesota did go 14-3 and lose to just two teams, but one of those is the Rams.
Sam Darnold’s Week 18 implosion doesn’t have us seeing ghosts, though.That night, Darnold failed to make throws he had made all year, and we’ll back him rebounding. This bet is rooted in the Rams’ offensive struggles, particularly involving Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp.
Stafford finished the season with one touchdown pass and just 459 passing yards across his past three games, plateauing at 189 yards.The Rams scored 44 total points (14.7 per game) in that stretch.
Kupp notched four catches for 53 yards in those games, including zero- and one-catch showings. One noteworthy tidbit is in the first matchup, according to Minnesota defensive coordinator Brian Flores, the Vikings did not know Puka Nacua would play and had to scramble.They should have a better plan for stopping Nacua this time, and the Stafford-Kupp connection isn’t clicking well enough to overcome that. The game has been moved to Glendale, Ariz.
due to the L.A.wildfires.The beauty of the NFL is we came into the year thinking the Chargers weren’t all that good to soundly believing they will beat the Texans in the annual Saturday afternoon first playoff game, the AFC South Invitational.
Houston has given little reason to trust it can deliver, especially due to the offensive line struggles that likely have played a role in C.J.Stroud’s regression.
The Texans went 1-5 this year against playoff teams and lost their past four. The Chargers are primed to run, run and run some more on a Texans defense that has allowed 27 points per game to playoff teams this year.Justin Herbert is playing well.
And Jim Harbaugh showed the difference a coach can make.An added bonus is the Texans finished the year on a 1-3 str...