New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens – NFL Betting Pick of the Week

The Saints and Ravens have flown under the radar a bit but both are amping things up as the playoffs are around the corner and the NFL betting matchups get more and more important.

It’s a classic matchup of offense vs. defense on paper, but many fans don’t realize that the offensive side of the ball has been keeping the Ravens in the hunt in the AFC playoff picture and Joe Flacco is a big reason why at QB.

Drew Brees of course is the perfect foil for the NFL betting underdog Saints.

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Who comes out with a big win in this matchup between top dogs in the AFC and NFC?

New Orleans Saints at Baltimore Ravens

1 pm ET

NFL betting odds: Ravens favored at -1 ½.

The Ravens are the favorite in this one in large part because of home field advantage.

The elements also factor into this one. While the weather won’t be the end of the world per se, it will still be 37 degrees according to the most recent forecasts.

New Orleans is a versatile team with a good defense and good line play but they are more of a dome team as most fans know.

Brees, the QB of the NFL betting odds underdogs, played in the Big Ten at Purdue and knows how to play in cold weather despite his smaller size, but the Saints in general have not played a whole lot of cold weather games.

That has to be a big factor to take into account for anyone thinking about laying money down on the Saints.

New Orleans is 3rd in passing but only 22nd in rushing and 16th against the rush.

While Baltimore doesn’t run the ball much better at 21nd in the NFL, they are 8th against the rush so they should be able to win that battle.

This one could come down to the very end and it should be a thriller.

While there is the fear of the great unknown regarding the Saints in the elements, Brees is a better bet to deliver in the clutch than Flacco.

That’s why the Saints are the best bet to win this one: they have more offensive playmakers who can make things happen in the clutch, and the Ravens have failed in such situations recently.

NFL betting odds pick: Saints (+1 ½).