5 Things We Learned from NFL Wild-Card Weekend (Sports Betting)
Well, who saw that coming? After years of wild-card favorites cleaning house, all four underdogs covered in the NFL wild-card round, with three winning outright in road upsets. It wasn't without a few crushing (or exhilarating) moments for gamblers, too, led by the "double doink" and a laughable backdoor cover.
Here are four things that stood out from the weekend's four games.
Upright horror haunts Bears
We start, of course, with the type of tragically-scripted ending that could only occur with Saint Nick Foles on the other sideline. After the Eagles' backup-turned-superstar led a game-winning drive in the final minutes, Bears kicker Cody Parkey lined up for a potential 43-yard winner to keep Chicago's torrid streak — and Super Bowl hopes — alive. You know the rest.
The Bears are slain, their run of nine wins in their past 10 now obsolete after Sunday's 16-15 defeat. So what does this mean for the defending champions? Dismiss it as dumb luck, but the Eagles looked every bit as dangerous as the near-touchdown favorites they faced, despite a modest box score. Alshon Jeffery made WR1 plays against his former team, tight ends Zach Ertz and Dallas Goedert found mismatches against Chicago's elite linebackers, and Golden Tate restored faith in his acquisition with the game-winning score. Even the oft-gashed secondary held its own, holding the Bears to just one score.
The Saints open as big favorites next week, deservedly so, but the Eagles aren't without the talent to match. Foles has won eight of his past nine games as a starter, and he could have his way against a secondary as maligned as Philly's.
Chargers exorcize playoff demons
It was never in doubt for the Chargers, who beat the Ravens so thoroughly in Sunday's 23-17 win that much of Twitter abandoned its yearslong witch hunt of Joe Flacco and exalted him as a second-half savior. It never came to be, as the Lamar Jackson-led offense stumbled until a late fourth-quarter rally that, fittingly, ended with a Jackson fumble.
But L.A. forced that fumble, along with two earlier ones and an interception, in a masterful defensive performance that showcased the Chargers' coaching acumen and defensive versatility. Derwin James led a seven defensive-back unit that largely neutralized Baltimore's speed and intermediate passing game, and Michael Badgley dispelled the franchise's long-running kicker curse with five makes to keep the offense afloat. That's not to mention a loaded defensive front that harassed Jackson all day and stifled what had been a historic rushing game in recent weeks.
That should bode well against a New England team that's relied heavily on the run this season, counter to previous iterations of the dynasty. The Chargers boast a better record and arguably a better roster, along with a stellar road record, so this week's divisional test smells like value for L.A. backers.
Cowboys take revenge, but bettors pay
Nearly 12 years to the day after Tony Romo's infamous botched snap that doomed his team in Seattle, the Cowboys took a conservative — and effective — approach to Saturday's revenge game, riding Ezekiel Elliott and a stingy defense to a 24-22 win that wasn't decided until late. Neither was the betting outcome, which hilariously swung after the Seahawks' late touchdown and subsequent two-point conversion thanks to an injury to Sebastian Janikowski.
Bad beats aside, Dallas proved the betting public wrong by sticking to a formula that fueled an eighth win in the Cowboys' past nine games. Elliott, the league's leading rusher, pounded the Hawks' shaky run defense to the tune of 137 yards and a score, and Dallas' offense shortened the game with clock-killing drives that kept the ball out of either quarterback's hands for much of the contest.
It's a limited approach, but it just may work next week against a Rams team that allowed an NFL-worst 5.1 yards per carry in the regular season. The Cowboys will throw an elite run defense at Todd Gurley, too, forcing Jared Goff to shake off his cold spell in the divisional round.
Colts continue league-best run
The headline is Andrew Luck returning to the postseason and guiding the Colts to their 10th win in 11 games after Saturday's 21-7 drubbing of division rival Houston. The real story is a defense that badgered Deshaun Watson and held the Texans scoreless until the fourth quarter. The lingering question: Can they do that against Kansas City?
They had no trouble against Houston's battered offensive line that allowed three sacks and eight more hits on Watson, who averaged just 4.8 yards per attempt and added 76 of his team's 105 total rushing yards. Credit the Colts on both. Since their 1-5 start, Indianapolis' defense has allowed the second-fewest points per drive, and it's paved the way for the best point differential in football during that stretch.
That said, the schedule was admittedly soft over that span, and the Chiefs' offense is far better than any Indianapolis has faced this season. But the Colts haven't allowed 30 points in their stellar run, and Kansas City's defense is ripe for attacking. The eye test says KC is the best team in the AFC, but the stats say Indy.
Jackson Cowart is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Jackson, check out his archive and follow him @CJacksonCowart.