Intro by Yank
It’s not saying much but we’ve both gotten a win already on Wild Card Weekend this year, which is more than we could have said last year. The Niners continue to look unstoppable and I’ve officially opted out of betting against them. At least Sam got a W. Meanwhile the Jags looked totally stoppable but their unstoppable incompetence matched up with the Chargers immovable ability to choke and they were able to pull out the victory. Catch me screaming DUUUUUUUVALLLLL. Another day of playoff action dawns and the boys have each found some momentum. Let’s win some effing money.
Wild Card Picks
The Miami Dolphins @ the Buffalo Bills-13.5 (Sunday @ 1:00 PM)
Yank: A classic minimum analysis necessary game here. Don’t bet against Bills Mafia in January is pretty close to an absolute for me. Add in the euphoria in both the Buffalo community and the locker room that has lifted this team’s spirits from Damar Hamlin’s remarkable recovery and I will struggle to pick against the Bills all playoffs long. The fact that Skylar Thompson will be under center for the opponent in this one makes that pick as easy as it could possibly be.
Sam: Although I can’t quite put my finger on it, I am slightly less confident in this game than I was in the 49ers-Seahawks game. That being said, the analysis from that pick also applies to this game. The 2 vs 7 seed is just too much of a gap in the new playoff formatting. In this case, the Tua-less Dolphins have no business being a playoff team. They struggle to move the ball, the defense wears down, and the other team usually wins. Buffalo has all the motivation in the world to want to show up big, and they have the roster talent to make this our 2nd blowout of the weekend.
Yank’s Pick:$3.30 in the Bills-13.5(-110), $2.20 on the Bills-19.5(+185) and $2.00 on a same game parlay Bills 1H ML+Bills Game ML+Game Under 43.5(+170)
Sam’s Pick: $7.70 on the Bills-13.5 (-110)
The New York Giants @ the Minnesota Vikings-3 (Sunday @ 4:30 PM)
Sam: Well, well, well. Look what the playoff Gods dragged in. Needless to say, things have been tense around the blog lately. A big-time matchup between your two favorite blog boys’ favorite teams. This one is pretty simple. You’ve got to ride for your team. I’m backing the Vikings as favorites at home – U.S. Bank will be loud. And speaking of loud. Everything I hear from the experts and pundits is how bad the Vikings are and how awesome the GMen are *they’re so well coached* *they play hard* *they have grit!* Well they also have only 2 wins in the last 2 months. Listen, folks, my Vikings give me a near heart attack every week and they sure as hell haven’t beaten the top teams in the NFC, but is that who they’re playing this week? Let’s put some respect on their name.
Also, I have 2 fun Same Game Parlays (SGP). One features Kirk rushing for more than 1.5 yards and getting a TD. I’m banking on that happening basically on the same play. Cousins has shown some willingness to escape for a scramble at big moments this season, and what’s bigger than a home playoff game? The other parlay is a self-defense play that will likely hit if the Giants knock off the Vikings. The Vikings pass defense is horrendous, so Jones reaching 250 passing yards and Saquon getting 25 or more of those feels almost inevitable, regardless of the outcome for the Giants.
Yank: The Giants and the Vikings matching up in the playoffs couldn’t be more fitting since these two overachievers are basically the Spider-Mans pointing at each other meme. I am not at all objective with respect to this matchup. That said I watched these two teams play live from the vaunted US Bank stadium on Christmas Eve. Some observations:
- It wasn’t that loud
- Adoree Jackson, Xavier McKinney, and Azeez Ojulari missed most or all of the game
- The Giants had two backbreaking turnovers and a punt that got blocked
- The Vikings still only won on a miracle 61-yard field goal
The Giants injury report is totally blank this week which will significantly improve the defense. The turnovers and special teams plays will decide this one. Hopefully, Daboll has the giants prepared to excel in those areas. I couldn’t be happier to take the points with this team in this spot.
Yank’s Pick: $7.70 on the Giants+3 (-110)
Sam’s Pick: $4.00 on the Vikings-3 (+100), $2.00 SGP on Kirk Cousins anytime TD scorer and Over 1.5 yards rushing (+1463), and $2.00 SGP on Daniel Jones 250+ passing yards and Saquon Barkley 25+ receiving yards (+242)
The Baltimore Ravens @ the Cincinnati Bengals-8.5 (Sunday @ 8:15 PM)
Yank: Maybe I’m a moron but all week I’ve been leaning Ravens here. That said, I’ll tell you guys what, the 49ers game yesterday did not give me confidence that a bad division opponent stands much of a chance in a third matchup. Something about the Ravens hanging around with a total zero at QB in week zero has me intrigued though. I think John Harbaugh is a much much better coach than Zac Taylor. I think the Bengals offense is containable and the Ravens have a lot of defensive talent and a great scheme with proven efficacy against Joe Burrow. Finally and maybe most importantly this line has moved down from Bengals-10 to -9 to -8.5. Not overwhelming value but also not nothing. My gut says this is going to be a strange game with lots of field goals and minimal scoring. I’ll take the Ravens to scratch and claw and make it ugly.
Sam: Oooh Ravens. You’ve been our curse all season. We extolled the virtues of a coach who gets when to be aggressive and runs a disciplined ship. We banked on a culture of sustained success all season long, and now we’re staring at the red because of it. And yet, despite all that, and almost assuredly for the last of the season, we find ourselves backing the Ravens once again. Yank gives it another go, but you understand why we must put ourselves in this position. The strategies demand it.
Yank’s Pick: $5.50 on the Ravens+10 (-120) and $2.00 on the longest FG being O47.5 yards (-120)
Sam’s Pick: $6.00 on the Ravens+10 (-133)
| Yank | Sam | |
| Risk | $22.70 | $21.70 |
| Potential Earnings | $23.72 | $49.61 |
One Last Line 
