2017 NFL Playoff Wild Card Round Odds, Picks and Predictions: Miami at Pittsburgh and New York at Green Bay: The Wild Card Round of the NFL playoffs wraps up Sunday with a pair of games that will finalize the matchups for next weekend’s Divisional Round. The action starts with the sixth-seeded Miami Dolphins going on the road to face the third-seeded Pittsburgh Steelers, and it finishes up with the fifth-seeded New York Giants visiting the fourth-seeded Green Bay Packers. Let’s take a closer look at both games. Also, check out NSAwins.com all playoffs for the best NFL picks and predictions against the spread thru the Super Bowl!
2017 NFL Playoff Wild Card Round Odds, Picks and Predictions: Miami at Pittsburgh and New York at Green Bay
Miami Dolphins at Pittsburgh Steelers
The AFC North champion and third-seeded Steelers will host the sixth-seeded Dolphins in a rematch of a regular season contest. Miami dominated the Week 6 showdown, winning 30-15. Miami running back Jay Ajayi ran for more than 200 yards in the win, and the Dolphins kept Le’Veon Bell and Ben Roethlisberger in check, even knocking Roethlisberger out of action temporarily with what would later be diagnosed as a torn meniscus.
After such a sound beating, the Dolphins certainly have reason to be confident. However, a lot has changed since the Week 6 showdown. For one, the Steelers will be the home team this team around, and they have a veteran, playoff-tested core. More importantly, Miami will likely be without starting quarterback Ryan Tannehill in this one.
Yes, veteran backup Matt Moore has been solid in relief, but Roethlisberger and company have been a different team at home, averaging 27.0 points per game. Roethlisberger has 20 touchdowns and five picks at home compared to nine scores and eight picks on the road. Not to mention that Bell has hit his stride after a slow start following a suspension to start the year. He is averaging 139.2 rushing yards over his last six games.
Armed with home-field advantage and a sizeable edge in offensive firepower, the Steelers should be in good shape. Pittsburgh will make Moore have to beat them, and I’ll take Roethlisberger over Moore any day of the week.
Prediction: Pittsburgh Steelers (-10) Cover the Spread
New York Giants at Green Bay Packers
For the second time this year, the New York Giants will visit Lambeau Field to take on the Green Bay Packers. Of course, there is a lot more at stake in this weekend’s wild-card showdown than there was back in Week 5 when Green Bay came away with a 23-16 win.
These teams have taken opposite approaches this season. The Giants own the second-best scoring defense, but they rank just 26th in scoring offense. Meanwhile, the Packers own the fourth-best scoring offense but rank just 21st in scoring defense.
In other words, this game is a strength versus strength matchup, and it’s hard to bet against the red hot Aaron Rodgers. The Packers roll into the playoffs on a six-game winning streak, and Rodgers has thrown 15 touchdowns and no interceptions during the stretch. Not to mention the fact that Green Bay is 10-1 this year when holding opponents to 30 points or less, and the Giants haven’t scored more than 28 points the entire year.
Yes, the Giants have a game-breaker in receiver Odell Beckham Jr., but he has been putting up great numbers all year and it hasn’t translated to big numbers for the Giants’ offense as a whole.
Playing at home with an MVP quarterback who is playing at an MVP level, the Giants just aren’t going to be able to put enough points on the board to keep up with Rodgers, even against a shaky Green Bay defense.
Prediction: Green Bay Packers (-4.5) Cover the Spread
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