NFL Betting – Saturday Divisional Round

A ticket to the conference championship is on the line this weekend when the final eight teams battle in the NFL’s Divisional Round. NFL betting has two games to wager on Saturday. Here’s a look at each of those matchups:

Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-3, 37)

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There will be few surprises in this meeting of AFC North foes. Saturday’s game marks the third head-to-head contest between the Ravens and Steelers this season, with the teams splitting those outings straight up and against the NFL pointspreads.

However, bettors may want to size up Baltimore’s 17-14 victory over Pittsburgh in Week 4. The Steelers were forced to put backup Charlie Batch under center with No. 1 quarterback Ben Roethlisberger sitting out the final game of his four-game suspension. The Ravens limited Batch to 141 yards and picked him off once while sacking the stand-in QB two times.

Points could be hard to come by this weekend, with both teams known for their stop units. Baltimore locked down the Kansas City Chiefs for a lone touchdown and five turnovers in the Wild Card Round, taking a 30-7 win as 3-point favorites at Arrowhead Stadium.

Pittsburgh’s first-round bye allowed it to rest its wounded, especially safety Troy Polamalu. He’s played hurt for most of the year and is currently nursing an ankle injury, but is expected to play Saturday. Polamalu is the heart and soul of Pittsburgh’s defense and will likely be responsible for keeping Ravens stud tight end Todd Heap in check. Heap caught 10 balls for 108 yards against Kansas City last weekend.

Pittsburgh has won six of the last 10 games against Baltimore and is 5-4-1 ATS in that span. However, the underdogs are 3-0-1 ATS in the last four head-to-head games. These divisional rivals have posted a 6-3-1 over/under count in that 10-game span, with the last two meetings staying below the total.

Green Bay Packers at Atlanta Falcons (-2.5, 45)

This NFC Divisional Round showdown is another rematch from the regular season. Atlanta defeated Green Bay 20-17 on a 47-yard Matt Bryant field goal with nine seconds remaining in that game, giving Falcons backers the cover as 2.5-point home faves.

Oddsmakers didn’t have to think long and hard about this Saturday’s line, setting Atlanta as 2.5-point chalk again inside the Georgia Dome. The Falcons are a solid 7-1 at home, covering in five of those games this year. In the Week 12 win over the Packers, Atlanta got an impressive running display from Michael Turner, who rumbled for 110 yards and a score.

Green Bay did a great job against the run in its 27-20 win over the Philadelphia Eagles as a 3-point underdog in last weekend’s Wild Card game. The Packers limited LeSean McCoy to just 35 yards on seven carries and, despite allowing 103 rushing yards to Michael Vick, did a good job containing the dual-threat QB and eliminating the big play.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers was a bit shaky in that win after entering the postseason on fire. He went 18 for 27 for 180 yards with three touchdowns but had two interceptions versus the Eagles. Rodgers put up 344 yards and a score through the air against the Falcons in November.

Green Bay is just 1-5 ATS in its last six games against Atlanta and is 2-8 ATS over the past 10 head-to-head contests with the Falcons, going back to 1989. During that span, these teams have posted a 6-4 over/under mark, with the over cashing in four of their six meetings in the past 10 years.