The NFL season is quickly coming to a close as teams look ahead to this week’s Divisional Round playoffs.  Saturday’s slate of games features Trevor Lawrence leading the Jags into Kansas City to face Patrick Mahomes, while Jalen Hurts and the Eagles host the Giants.  Sunday will see Joe Burrow and the Bengals battle Josh Allen and the Bill in Buffalo, followed by Dak Prescott attempting to lead America’s Team to playoff success on the road against third-string quarterback Brock Purdy.

Sports Interaction’s NFL Best Bets will highlight one spread, total or prop from each game worth betting on.

Make sure to check out complete odds for all NFL games, NFL props and NFL futures.

Jekly and Hyde Lawrence

Trevor Lawrence made NFL history in Jacksonville’s wild-card win over the Chargers last week, just not the kind of history he likely wanted to make.  Lawrence became just the third quarterback in the Super Bowl era to throw four first-half interceptions in a playoff game.  The second half was a different story, however, as he threw four touchdown passes to lead the Jaguars to a 31-30 victory, successfully completing a 27-point comeback, the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history.

Lawrence, the No. 1 overall pick in the 2021 draft, only threw eight interceptions in the regular season, including just two in the final eight games.  The point being?  Playoff football is a different game.  Jacksonville’s run-game is average at best, which forces Lawrence to throw the ball.  In fact, only Tom Brady‘s 66 attempts in the wild-card round were more than Lawrence, who threw the ball 47 times.  For better or worse, the Jaguars’ playoff hopes rest entirely in Lawrence’s hands.

Best Bet: Trevor Lawrence Over 0.5 interceptions.  Lawrence is throwing a pick, hammer the Over.

Jacksonville Jaguars @ Kansas City Chiefs game preview

Hurts So Good

Jalen Hurts comes into the playoffs with the third-best odds to win Super Bowl MVP at +423, trailing only Buffalo’s Josh Allen (+318) and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes (+246).  It’s no secret that’s Hurts’ success is in large part due to his mobility.  Hurts finished with the second-most total rushing yards on the Eagles during the regular-season and the most rushing TDs, averaging 50.7 yards per game on the ground.

One of the biggest reason’s to believe Philadelphia will need to rely on the run-game this Saturday is the status of Hurts’ shoulder.  It’s well-known Hurts is playing through a sprained throwing shoulder suffered a month ago against the Chicago Bears.  That injury forced Hurts to miss two of the Eagles’ final three regular season games.  He did make it back for the season finale against the Giants, but finished with his second-lowest completion percentage of the season, 57.1 per cent.  It would be a shock if Hurts doesn’t rely on his legs in this one.

Best Bet: Over 50.5 rushing yards for Jalen Hurts.

New York Giants @ Philadelphia Eagles game preview

Cold Weather Blues

This pick comes down to the Bengals offence, which hasn’t clicked over the last few weeks.  Cincinnati’s offence has produced at least 30 points in just two of their last eight games, while the total in four of their last five games has been below 48.5.

The weather should also be taken into consideration when you’re looking at a January game in Buffalo.  The extended forecast is calling for Sunday to be cold and snowy, not ideal conditions to put points on the board.

Best Bet: Under 48.5 total points.

Relaxed, Rested and Ready Niners

Can you imagine if Dallas’ game last week had been decided by four points or less?  Kicker Brett Maher might have been forced to stay behind in Florida for his own safety.  Luckily for Maher, who missed four PATs last week, this game likely won’t come down to a field goal.

The Niners are rested and they’ll be facing a Cowboys team playing their fourth straight road game (and on a short week).  This San Francisco team is also loaded with offensive weapons from running back Christian McCaffrey to surprise quarterback standout Brock Purdy.  San Fran could win this thing by more than a touchdown.

Best Bet: San Francisco -4.

Dallas Cowboys @ San Francisco 49ers game preview