Tag: Packers

Packers v Falcons Looks Set to be a High-scoring Thriller

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

There are just four teams left standing in the NFL playoffs and they are only one game away from the Super Bowl. On Sunday the NFC and AFC champions will be crowned before they go on to meet at Super Bowl LI in Houston, Texas, on February 5. Both conference championship bouts promise to be enthralling contests and first up is the NFC Conference game, which sees the Green Bay Packers travel to the Atlanta Falcons.

Green Bay Packers

The big story of the divisional round was Green Bay’s stunning win on the road against NFC top seeds the Dallas Cowboys. Dallas had by far and away the best record in the NFC and were overwhelming favourites to win the conference. But they came up against a Green Bay side that had become the league’s form team, closing out the regular season with a six-game winning streak to finish 10-6 and qualify for the playoffs as fourth seeds at the top of their division, before thumping the heavily fancied New York Giants 38-13 in the Wildcard Round. Their clash with Dallas was epic, tied at 31-31 with 12 seconds to go when Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers threw a 36-yard pass to Jared Cook, who tapped both feet on the ground before falling out of bounds, leaving Mason Crosby to step up for a 51-yard field goal to seal a 34-31 win. Rodgers played out of his skin, leaving his teammates and the opposition in awe with that final pass. Green Bay will be a formidable opponent for the Falcons on Sunday.

Atlanta Falcons

Atlanta has had a more straightforward route to the conference final. They finished the regular season on 11-6 to end up as second seed and get a bye for the Wildcard Round. They faced a difficult divisional game against the Seahawks but benefited from home advantage – Seattle to Atlanta is a long old trip – and won it comfortably. The 36-20 highlighted the supreme talents of Falcons QB Matt Ryan, and it will be a fascinating clash between him and Rodgers.

Projections

Atlanta will have expected a trip to Dallas to take on the conference favourites, but instead they have home field advantage and host a banged up Green Bay team. It is, however, full of danger and surging with confidence after eight straight wins. It looks set to be a classic. During the regular season, Rodgers and Ryan were ranked one and two for the most touchdown passes, with 40 and 38 respectively, and they are arguably the two most in-form quarterbacks in the NFL at present. These teams met in week eight, when Rodgers and Ryan combined for seven touchdown passes and 534 yards, so it should be a thriller. On that day, the Falcons won 33-32, and it could prove equally close here.

Green Bay are much improved since then and did fantastically well to beat Dallas without Jordy Nelson. But the Falcons are also improving and have the league’s best offence. Both of them are poor defensively and superb in offence, so it should be a high scoring game and the 4/6 Sky Bet is offering on over 57.5 points looks good. If Nelson returns it will provide a great boost for the Packers, but even if he does not get over his injury (cracked ribs) Rodgers has proved that he can throw to anyone and he has the postseason experience to lead the Packers to a victory against the odds.

The Packers are real outsiders here, at 15/8 with Sky Bet and Paddy Power, while the Falcons are 1/2 with Stan James. In all likelihood, it will be a lot closer than that and the Packers could well spring a surprise. If they do lose, it should only be by a slender margin and that makes them look good to cover the spread, so the 5/6 Bet365 is offering on Green Bay +5.5 looks fantastic.

NFL playoffs: Giants threatening to cause upset against Packers

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Playoff fever has gripped America as the regular season has ended and we are just a few weeks away from the Super Bowl. First up is the Wildcard Round and tensions are running high as just three games stand between these teams and a shot at the ultimate glory. In the NFC the wildcards are the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions, who travel to Green Bay and Seattle respectively with everything to play for.

New York Giants at Green Bay Packers

The Giants finished the regular season 11-5, a record that would have been good enough to win every other division but theirs. It is their misfortune that they play in the same NFC division as the Dallas Cowboys, who earned the best record in the conference this season by finishing 13-3. The Packers could only manage 10-6 despite their status as fifth favourites for the Super Bowl (9/1 with William Hill), but they are in sensational form. They looked down and out in the autumn when they were 4-6, but they have embarked on a remarkable six-game winning streak that has left their fans daring to dream, mainly thanks to the near-perfect form of quarterback Aaron Rodgers.

The Giants go into this game as 4-point underdogs on the spread and serious underdogs with all bookmakers, with William Hill and Coral offering 9/4 on them causing an upset in Green Bay. The Giants lost 23-16 to the Packers in week 4, which will give Green Bay fans further hope, but they should be nervous about their badly injured defence. They were already banged up going into week 17 when they lost Quinten Rollins, Damarious Randall and Makinton Dorleant. They already rank a lowly 31st against the pass this season, and injuries will compound the problem, making the Giants – led by Odell Beckham Jr – the worst team they could have faced in this round. The Giants have a great chance of winning this one and the odds are fantastic at 9/4. A more cautious option would be to back the Giants +4.5 on the Spread at 19/20 with Coral, which looks a great bet.

Detroit Lions at Seattle Seahawks

Nobody is giving the Lions much of a chance of pulling off a similar upset in Seattle. Detroit sneaked into the playoffs by the skin of their teeth after finishing 9-7, the same record as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, but progressed by sheer virtue of having a slightly better record against common opponents with the Bucs. The Lions are on a three-game losing streak – all against playoff teams – and they make the long trip to Seattle to face a team that won their division comfortably, with a record of 10-5-1.

The Seattle offence is hardly firing on all cylinders, but they should have enough about them to get the job done here. Of the 12 teams in the playoffs, bookmakers are offering the longest odds on the Lions, who are 80/1 to win it, compared to 12/1 for Seattle. The Seahawks have won their last nine playoff games at home, and quarterback Russell Wilson has never lost a home playoff game. The Lions, meanwhile, have not won a playoff game on the road since 1957, so history is very much against them. The bookmakers have them as serious underdogs here, with Paddy Power offering a huge 31/10 on them, while Seattle is massively odds-on.

Most bookmakers are offering 1/4 on the Seahawks winning this and that looks a good one to add to an accumulator, but not great value as an outright bet. The point spread is huge, with the Lions eight-point underdogs, but the Detroit defence has given up 73 points in the last two games, so they can cover it. A safer option, however, might be to go down to the 6.5 point alternative Bet365 is offering and take 4/6 on Seattle -6.5.

Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions set for tense finale

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

Week 17 promises to be a nail-biting one for thousands of NFL fans as there are four teams vying for the final two playoff berths in the NFC. It is win or bust for the Green Bay Packers and the Detroit Lions as their game will decide who wins the NFC North, while the Washington Redskins and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are also in with a chance of earning a wildcard spot in the playoffs.

New York Giants at Washington Redskins

The NFC East looks to be the best division in the league right now, with the Cowboys leading the way on 13-2 and the Giants second with a 10-5 record. Both have already qualified for the playoffs, but a third team from the division could also go through if Washington secure the final wildcard spot. That would mean three of the six teams going to the playoffs have come from the same division, and it is looking pretty likely.

The Redskins host New York knowing that the Giants have nothing to play for. They are locked in for the fifth seed spot, so they will more than likely rest key players to avoid the risk of sustaining any injuries ahead of the playoffs. The Redskins have it all to play for and come into the match fresh from a 41-21 thrashing of the Chicago Bears. They should be able to beat the Giants, but about the best price you can get is 3/10 at Paddy Power. It looks good for any accumulators you are considering, but it does not represent great value. The spread is pretty tough on the Redskins as they are -8 and they will struggle to cover that. You would expect them to win but not by a huge margin, so the 20/23 on the New York Giants +8 looks a good bet, as the Redskins are likely to win this by only three or four points.

Green Bay Packers at Detroit Lions

The biggest fixture in week 17 has been saved for last as the Packers travel to Detroit for the crunch game. Both teams are 9-6 and are tied at the top of NFC North and the winner takes it all. Things are not looking good for the Lions. They have led the division for most of the season, but have lost their last two games and seen the Packers catch up with them right at the death. Last week’s 42-21 drubbing at the hands of the Cowboys, who had already qualified for the playoffs and had nothing to play for, will have caused a great deal of consternation among their fans.

By contrast, the Packers are flying, having embarked on a five-game winning streak, the best in the conference. That run has included victories over excellent teams such as the Seahawks and Texans, both of whom have made the playoffs, and they should be able to topple Detroit. In that five-game winning streak, their average margin of victory has been 13 points, so they look good to cover a -3.5 spread at 19/20 with Bet365 when they travel to Detroit. Aaron Rodgers has been absolutely sensational during their winning run with 11 passing touchdowns – four of them against the Vikings last week – and zero interceptions. A creaking Detroit defence will struggle to contain him and we could see a repeat of the game earlier in the season when Green Bay beat them by seven points. If you think it will be closer than that, Bet365 has 4/6 on the Packers at -2 or 4/7 on them simply winning outright.

NFC Conference: Giants and Packers look like good outside bets

Posted on by Online Betting Pro

The race to reach the playoffs is heating up, with just two games to play and several spots still up for grabs. In the NFC, the Cowboys and the Seahawks have already made it through, while the Giants look good for a wildcard spot. The second wildcard spot will either come from the NFC North or NFC South, divisions in which it looks set to go down to the wire. The Lions, Packers, Falcons and Buccaneers are now essentially fighting it out for the final three NFC playoff places, although the Vikings and Redskins also have an outside chance. There are several exciting games to look forward to and plenty of good value for punters in week 16.

New York Giants at Philadelphia Eagles

The early game next weekend sees the Giants travel to Philadelphia, and they will be buoyed by a two-game winning streak built on a truly formidable defence. They have gone 27 drives without yielding a single touchdown, including an entire game against the Dallas Cowboys, who are second favourites to win the Super Bowl. They were superb in beating the Lions 17-6 last weekend and Odell Beckham Jr looked unplayable at times, capping a great performance with a one-handed touchdown catch in the fourth quarter. Philadelphia has lost five in a row and threw it away against the Ravens last weekend by going for a two-point conversion right at the death, a plan that failed. They are done for the season and should have no chance against the Giants, who should cover a -3 spread, with Paddy Power offering a generous 21/20 on this.

Minnesota Vikings at Green Bay Packers

The Packers are the form team of the conference at the moment, on a four-game winning streak that has taken them to within a game of the Lions at the top of the NFC North. The Lions were tamed by the Giants last time out to leave them 9-5, while the Vikings have gone from 4-6 to 8-6 to leave them looking good either to win the division or claim a wildcard spot. The Vikings are third in the division at 7-7 and have a slim chance of making the postseason, but the Packers can put an end to that by beating them here, and home advantage should help them prevail. Green Bay are on fire at the moment and are just 2/7 to win this with Sky Bet, so for more value back them to cover a -7 spread, with Paddy Power again offering the best price, 21/20.

NFC outrights

The Dallas Cowboys are deservedly favourites to win the conference (they are second favourites to win the Super Bowl after the New England Patriots) at 6/4 with William Hill and Coral as they have the best record in the NFC and will enjoy a bye to the Divisional Round, where they will have home advantage. But the NFC is not as clear cut as the AFC, where the Patriots are head and shoulders above the rest and expected to walk it. The Giants have the second-best record in the conference, but it is their misfortune to be in the same division as the Cowboys, so they look destined for a wildcard spot and will have to do it the hard way. But their recent back to back wins over the Cowboys and the Lions will give them confidence and they look a great bet at 12/1 with William Hill. The Seahawks, 5/2 with Coral, are in with a shout, as are the Falcons (9/1 with William Hill), but the Packers have hit form at just the right time and look a really good outside bet at 9/1 with Coral and Paddy Power. You could spread your stake between the Giants and Packers and be in with a great chance of making a profit.