Following a long, unpredictable regular season full of parity, the 14 best teams from around the NFL have earned postseason berths ahead of the start of the Wild Card Playoffs round.
Super Wild Card Weekend will feature six games: three in each conference, spread across three consecutive days of NFL action.
Today, we are going to take a look at my best bets for Wild Card Weekend for all six games.
Anthony Cervino’s 2022 NFL Best Bets Record: 36-60 (-32.5 Units)
NFL odds and lines are current as of noon ET, on Monday, Jan. 9, at Caesars Sportsbook.
Wild Card Weekend NFL Featured Best Bet
Keep up with the best NFL odds for Week Wild Card Weekend games
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Seahawks vs 49ers
49ers -10 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
The 49ers have won 10 straight games entering Wild Card Saturday, covering the NFL point spread in eight of those victories. The 49ers also swept the season series against the Seahawks, winning each game by at least eight points while covering the spread in both.
For Seattle, the road to the postseason has been rocky.
Following a strong start to the season, the Seahawks began to collapse, but they were able to win their last two games and get some help to earn the seventh and final playoff spot in the NFC.
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Unfortunately, that just earned them a matchup with the hottest team in football, and despite playoff games often being tighter, this game spells doom for the Seahawks.
The last matchup between these two teams was in Seattle, and the 49ers still won by eight. Earlier this season, the 49ers blew out the Seahawks 27-7, which is how I anticipate this game going.
Against a stout 49ers’ front seven and one of the best defenses in the NFL, I don’t have much faith in the Geno Smith-led, one-dimensional Seahawks’ offense getting it done.
Meanwhile, Seattle fields one of the league’s worst run defenses, which plays right into the hands of what Christian McCaffrey and the 49ers offense do best.
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Chargers vs Jaguars
Jaguars +1 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
Saturday will be the second time the Jaguars face off against the Chargers this season. In the first meeting, the Jaguars shocked the world with a 38-10 victory in Los Angeles. That Chargers team was beaten up, but then again, so is this one.
In last week’s meaningless loss to the Broncos, oft-injured Chargers studs Mike Williams (back) and Joey Bosa (undisclosed) both suffered injuries, leaving their status for Wild Card Saturday up in the air.
The Jaguars are as healthy as you can be for January football. They are also red hot, entering the postseason winners of five straight.
This young Jaguars team led by Trevor Lawrence is maturing in front of our eyes behind the tutelage of Doug Pederson. There are a lot of similarities between this Jaguars team and last year’s Bengals.
I’ll side with the battle-tested head coach over Brandon Staley.
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Dolphins vs Bills
Dolphins +10.5 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
The Dolphins are limping into the playoffs, both literally and figuratively. After losing five straight games, the Dolphins squeaked out a Week 18 win over the Jets with Skylar Thompson under center.
The matchup gets much tougher on Sunday against the emotional Bills, especially with Miami battered on the injury front.
Raheem Mostert is dealing with a fractured thumb, Tyreek Hill is dealing with an ankle, and Tua Tagovailoa is still trying to clear concussion protocol after his Week 16 head injury.
Best case, all three are able to go at Buffalo. Worst case, Miami enters the matchup with Teddy Bridgewater.
We know that the Dolphins can defeat Buffalo when Tagovailoa and everything else is clicking. However, things haven’t clicked for the Dolphins since November.
When it’s all said and done, the Bills will win this game. But Miami has covered or pushed in each of its past three meetings with the Bills, which should be the case on Sunday.
The underdog is 4-1-1 against the spread in the past six Dolphins-Bills matchups. The Bills are also 1-4 in their past five games facing teams with a winning record.
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Giants vs Vikings
Over 48.5 Points (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
When it comes to the Giants vs Vikings, expect points to be scored. This game could go either way with the Giants winning outright on the road, but he NFL total is where to attack this matchup.
The last time we saw the Giants play their starters, they scored 38 points. It was against the Colts, but Minnesota’s defense is not much better. The week before the Colts game, the Giants scored 24 points on the road…against the Vikings.
Back-to-back games with at least 24 points is a feat that the Giants are not used to, but this is Brian Daboll’s offense now. And he has Daniel Jones playing his best football as a pro.
As long as the Giants’ offense keeps rolling, I have faith that the Vikings will do their part in the scoring department.
The Over is 6-1 in the Vikings’ past seven games overall and 6-0 in their last six home games against a team with a winning road record.
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Ravens vs Bengals
Bengals -6.5 (-110) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
Whether or not Lamar Jackson plays in this game will determine the fate of the Ravens. If he is sidelined, this game could be over early. Last week, the Bengals defeated the Ravens 27-16 at home in a game that was not as close as the final score.
Although the Ravens defeated the Bengals in early October, Cincinnati has won three of its past four games against the Ravens. In that four-game period, the Bengals are 3-0-1 ATS.
All of the Bengals’ straight-up wins in that period were by at least 11 points. Two of those games were played in the jungle.
The Ravens are 2-5-1 in their past eight games ATS while the Bengals are 8-1-1 ATS in their past 10.
Wild Card Weekend Best Bet: Cowboys vs Buccaneers
Cowboys -3 (+100) at Caesars Sportsbook
WAGER: 1 Unit
There is value in the Cowboys to win and cover in a game featuring two teams entering Wild Card Monday night flat as a board. On paper, the Cowboys are the superior team, but an injured, shuffling offensive line, a lack of a running game, and Dak Prescott giveaways have derailed this once-potent offense.
The Buccaneers have Tom Brady going for them. He has never lost to the Cowboys. However, this could be one of those times when the Hall of Famer’s presence is just not enough.
Brady just ended his first season with a losing record. Aaron Rodgers was just swept by the Lions. Perhaps those old “gimmies" are no longer gimmies.
Anytime the Cowboys have come off of a loss this season, they have bounced back strong. If Dan Quinn’s defense can get to Brady and create turnovers, the Cowboys will have a chance to win this game.
The defense can’t do it all. Getting the running game going is also a must.
