DPD Bettor’s Guide – NFL Divisional Round “grubbing for wins” edition

After a rough opening weekend, our resident handicapper is back with his picks for the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs.

Well, so much for “smelling a Giants-Pats Super Bowl rematch.” I only hope that you didn’t blow your hard-earned cash on my prediction and what is quickly becoming a Gotham-sized Eli Manning & Odell (OBJ) Beckham Jr. sideshow.

(Full disclosure warning: While I advised betting the New York Giants at +4.5, I was rooting for the Green Bay Packers to win, but not cover, because one of my amazing wife’s passions is repping for the Grub Tub, a sports fan’s dream one-handed “eat and drink” combo. Perfect for beer, brats and cheese curds, Lambeau Field introduced the Grub Tub to the NFL. More Packer wins equals more Grub Tubs.)

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In what had to be the most boring Wild Card weekend in NFL history, my other “high confidence” underdog plays in the Miami Dolphins and Detroit Lions also failed miserably. My sole Wild Card winner came about when, as predicted, a road playoff game was no place for Walsh Jesuit’s Connor Cook to start his first NFL career game at quarterback for the Oakland Raiders.

With my overall season record back to .500, here’s how I see the Divisional Round going down – with score totals:

• Seattle Seahawks +5 @ the Atlanta Falcons – Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson and head coach Pete Carroll have been to two Super Bowls, Atlanta quarterback Matt Ryan is 1-4 in the playoffs, whoever’s the Atlanta head coach hasn’t won anything, and peripatetic evil genius Falcon offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan already has one foot out of the Georgia Dome. Seahawks 23-19.
• Houston Texans +16 @ New England – I knew this would be a “big number,” but three scores is one of the biggest spreads in NFL playoff history.  Houston has enough defensive talent to annoy Patriots quarterback Tom Brady, and Houston head coach Bill O’Brien learned from the original evil genius, who’s been napping instead of figuring out how to thwart Brock Osweiler. Pats 31-17.
• Pittsburgh Steelers +1.5 @ the Kansas City Chiefs – Tough game to handicap, but Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is money and will pull out a classic win at the final gun. Steelers 27-Chiefs 26.
• Dallas Cowboys -4 vs. the Green Bay Packers — My dreams of a Grub Tub-armed Cheesehead Nation storming SB LI come crashing down as “on an unstoppable roll” Aaron Rodgers and the Packers crash down to planet Earth. Cowboys 30-19.

Next: Browns: Top 10 QBs of all-time

Season record 37-37-3