On Saturday, we get our first look at the number one seeds in the AFC and NFC as the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers play their first playoff games of 2024. Are the favorites going to dominate, or should we anticipate some surprising performances from the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for the Saturday Divisional Round NFL playoff games.
Best NFL Divisional Round PrizePicks Player Predictions (Saturday)
Last week, I made the mistake of betting against C.J. Stroud. While the rookie is in for a very tough matchup on Saturday, he has proven that he can throw the ball against anyone. In Week 1, Stroud threw for 242 yards against the Ravens. However, only four of those were to Schultz.
On Saturday, we get our first look at the number one seeds in the AFC and NFC as the Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers play their first playoff games of 2024. Are the favorites going to dominate, or should we anticipate some surprising performances from the Green Bay Packers and Houston Texans?
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for the Saturday Divisional Round NFL playoff games.
Best NFL Divisional Round PrizePicks Player Predictions (Saturday)
Last week, I made the mistake of betting against C.J. Stroud. While the rookie is in for a very tough matchup on Saturday, he has proven that he can throw the ball against anyone. In Week 1, Stroud threw for 242 yards against the Ravens. However, only four of those were to Schultz.
Schultz has gone for at least 37 yards in four of his last five games. On the season, he's recorded more than 37 receiving yards in eight of his 16 games. The ceiling for Schultz isn't very high as only twice this season has he compiled more than 70 yards.
In Week 1, Stroud connected with Nico Collins for 80 yards. All these weeks later, Collins is still Stroud's favorite target. Schultz is a good secondary option, but the Ravens rank 12th in receiving yards allowed to tight ends this season. In a game where the Texans are going to struggle to gain yards, taking Schultz's under is the right move.
Some bettors may be shocked to learn that the NFL's leading rusher finished the season averaging 17 carries per game. While his 272 carries were still tied for the second-most in the NFL, McCaffrey wasn't overused as the 49ers rolled over most of their opponents this season.
A big reason why is that McCaffrey averages 5.4 yards per carry and because of how successful he is every time he touches the ball, he doesn't need many carries to run for over 100 yards. However, in this game against the Packers, multiple factors point to McCaffrey carrying the ball at least 20 times.
First, the 49ers should be leading most of the game. Second, McCaffrey never shares carries with the rest of the backfield. And third, the Packers allow the seventh-most rushing attempts per game. The Packers are easy to run on, but even if McCaffrey ends up averaging over 5.0 yards per carry, in the playoffs, he should surpass his average in a game his team wins.
The Ravens run the ball more than any other team in the NFL. Throughout the season, Edwards had to find carries in a crowded backfield, yet he still ran for 810 yards this season. With Keaton Mitchell suffering a season-ending injury near the end of the Regular Season, Edwards is the clear top back over Justice Hill entering the playoffs.
Lamar Jackson will run plenty in this game, but the Ravens are still going to hand the ball to their back a lot. Edwards has rushed for at least 48 yards in three of his last four games and one of those performances even occurred with Mitchell in the lineup.
The Texans are second in the NFL in rushing yards allowed per attempt. However, the Ravens are a tough team to plan for because of Jackson' dual-threat nature. With plenty of volume, Edwards will grind out a performance of greater than 52 yards.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Friday:
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Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.
