NFL Football – Best Early NFL Playoff Bets For Wild Card Weekend

Want to know which NFL wild card games to bet on this weekend? It’s really rather simple: Take the five versus four games and stay away from the six versus three matchups. Also, don’t be afraid to pick superior road teams with postseason experience. Here are our best early bets:

Best Early NFL Playoff Bets: New Orleans -10.5 over Seattle

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There’s no sense in trying to hide behind it or deny it, or pretend that there’s better value in other NFL playoff games. It’s simply undeniable that New Orleans is an elite team.

The defending champions might have been doubted by some, but when they went into Atlanta on Dec. 27 and handed the Falcons a 17-14 loss, New Orleans dealt the NFC’s top seed its only home-field defeat of the 2010 regular season.

The Saints, playing rugged defense, contained Matt Ryan and showed that they don’t have to have a flashy offense to win games. Now, going up against a toothless Seattle offense that will either have an injured Matt Hasselbeck or a healthy Charlie Whitehurst, New Orleans should feast at the banquet table.

The Saints will be going up against a Seattle offensive line that has proven to be inept at run blocking. The Seahawks are at the bottom of the NFL in rushing, so they have a balanced offense – they’re mediocre in both the running game and the passing game.

Seattle has no weapons that can even begin to threaten New Orleans’ aggressive and sound defense. If the Seahawks scored 17 points, it would be an achievement. Let’s say Seattle does score 17 points. That’s where Drew Brees comes in. The MVP of Super Bowl XLIV has every reason to be focused this weekend, as he tries to defend his team’s world championship.

It’s entirely reasonable to expect 30 points from the Saints, so even if Seattle plays really well on offense, New Orleans has a 50-50 chance of covering the spread. Seattle is not likely to play really well on offense, so the prospects of a 20-point win are very good for New Orleans.

Best Early NFL Playoff Bets: Baltimore -2.5 over Kansas City

If New Orleans over Seattle is a lock, this game is half as likely to be a winner. However, with Green Bay-Philadelphia and New York-Indianapolis taking place this weekend, you want to stay away from those games. If you’re looking for a second-best selection in the realm of “best bets,” this is definitely the place to turn to.

Baltimore has won road wild card games each of the last two seasons. The Ravens won two road games in the January 2009 playoffs with quarterback Joe Flacco, so they’ve been through the wars before. Kansas City, on the other hand, is a playoff newbie, having missed the postseason since 2003.

Quarterback Matt Cassel is not used to the playoff spotlight, and his health is less than optimal. It was alarming and confounding that Kansas City coach Todd Haley didn’t rest Cassel in last Sunday’s meaningless week 17 game against the Oakland Raiders. Cassel instead threw 33 passes and will now have to face Ray Lewis and the rest of a hard-hitting Baltimore defense.

The Chiefs are not in position to handle the pressure of the moment. They’re also not prepared for the intensity that the Ravens, a bunch of playoff vets, are ready to bring to the table. This game is in Kansas City; Baltimore really won’t care and that’s why they are one of the best early NFL playoff bets.