NFL season is underway and there's no better time to prepare yourself for NFL betting with this helpful guide to explain NFL odds, point spreads, and more. Easily the most popular type of betting for NFL football is “spread” betting or more commonly known as betting against the spread.Bettors who are new to NFL betting or betting in general may be a little confused with NFL spread betting, but it is pretty easy to understand once it is explained to you. About: TheSpread.com is the largest sports betting news site in the United States. We provide point spread news, odds, statistics and information to over 175 countries around the world each year.
The NFL Playoffs will start out with a six-game slate this coming weekend. It should be a blast with the Colts and Bills opening up the action in Western New York.
However, as we look at NFL Playoff odds and point spreads for the wild card round, one can’t look past the Ravens attempting to exact revenge against the Titans and the Cleveland Browns doing their best to win their first playoff game since 1994.
It’s in this that we give you the odds and point spreads for each wild card game to start the NFL Playoffs with a quick blurb mixed in.
Related: NFL Power Rankings – Tom Brady and Tampa Bay Buccaneers win Super Bowl LV, offseason outlook for all 32 teams.
Updated: Jan. 56 8:28 PM EST
NFL Playoffs schedule: Saturday wild card games, Vegas odds
Indianapolis Colts at Buffalo Bills
Colts-Bills odds and point spread: Bills -6.5 (over/under 51.5)
Over the course of their final eight regular-season games, the Bills posted a 7-1 record while averaging north of 37 points per game. That span saw Josh Allen tally north of 2,500 total yards with 25 touchdowns against just five interceptions. Remember, he didn’t play in the second half of Week 17 and was pulled early with Buffalo destroying the New England Patriots the previous week.
As for the Colts, their top-10 ranked scoring defense didn’t necessarily translate to tremendous performances against winning teams during the regular season. In fact, Indianapolis gave up an average of 35.4 points in said games.
The Colts will now likely rely on Philip Rivers, Jonathan Taylor and their offense to keep pace with the high-flying Bills in this one. That doesn’t bode well given that Indy failed to score 30-plus points in each of their final three regular-season games. Look for Buffalo to cover here and continue with its run in the NFL Playoffs.
This Week's Vegas Nfl Odds
Related: Ranking NFL quarterbacks
Los Angeles Rams at Seattle Seahawks
Rams-Seahawks odds and point spread: Seahawks -3.5 (over/under 42.5)
Update: Seahawks star S Jamal Adams (shoulder) questionable
Update: Rams QB Jared Goff (finger) limited in practice on Wednesday
Rams quarterback Jared Goff (finger) is questionable to play in this game after missing their playoff-clinching Week 17 win over the Arizona Cardinals. Instead, former undrafted free agent John Wolford could get the call for Los Angeles after having thrown 38 career regular-season passes.
Let’s put this into perspective for a second, shall we? Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson has attempted 424 career passes in the NFL Playoffs, including 46 in the Super Bowl. While Wolford did put up nearly 300 total yards against the Cardinals last week, the difference here could not be more stark.
The only hope Los Angeles has is that its defense led by the legendary Aaron Donald plays elite football and keeps Seattle from maintaining drives. The Seahawks averaged just 18 points in two regular-season games against Los Angeles with Wilson being sacked 11 times. Will that continue into the NFL Playoffs?
Related: NFL defense rankings – Examining the top defenses in the NFL.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers at Washington Football Team
Buccaneers-Washington odds and point spread: Buccaneers -8.5 (over/under 45.0)
Update: Washington QB Alex Smith (calf) was limited in practice on Wednesday
Following his ho-hum performance in a Week 17 win over the tanking Philadelphia Eagles, Alex Smith boasts an 11-5 record as Washington’s starter since joining the team back in 2018. All other Washington quarterbacks are 6-26 during that very same span. Remember, Smith was 67-25-1 as a starter for the 49ers and Chiefs from 2011-17 before joining WFT.
Will this mean anything with the seven-win Washington squad set to take on the Buccaneers as major underdogs to open the NFL Playoffs? That’s highly unlikely. Tom Brady and Co. outscored their final two regular-season opponents by a combined margin of 91-34. Washington has not scored 91 points in a two-game span since all the way back in 1991. The most it scored in a two-game span during the regular year was 64 points. You can do the math from here.
Related: NFL Wildcard schedule, predictions
NFL Playoffs schedule: Sunday wild card games, NFL betting odds
Baltimore Ravens at Tennessee Titans
Ravens-Titans odds and point spread: Ravens -3.0 (over/under 55.0)
There’s seemingly more x-factors in this one game in the first round of the NFL Playoffs than the other five. That starts with Derrick Henry and his absolutely absurd conclusion to the regular season. The two-time reigning rushing champ put up 1,081 rushing yards and nine touchdowns over the past seven games. He’s also gained 328 rushing yards in his past two games against the Ravens.
Tennessee will certainly need this to pull off the home upset. Its defense gave up 78 points in the final two regular season games and yielded north of 400 total yards of offense eight times in 16 games. That’s not going to cut it against a red-hot Ravens offense that is averaging 36.6 points per game during its current five-game winning streak.
Specifically, reigning NFL MVP Lamar Jackson might be able to counteract what Henry brings to the table. Since returning from COVID-19, Jackson has put up 1,239 total yards with 15 touchdowns against just three picks in five games. This came after questions about his regression earlier in the season. Yeah, take the Ravens and the points here. Tennessee’s defense just isn’t up to snuff.
Related: Top 100 NFL players right now
Chicago Bears at New Orleans Saints
Bears-Saints odds and point spread: Saints -9.5 (over/under 47.0)
In their seven games against winning teams during the regular season, the Bears boasted a 1-6 record. That included a blowout 35-16 loss to Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers in Week 17. However, there’s a positive on this front for head coach Matt Nagy and Co. Three of those six losses came by one score.
Related: Could Mitchell Trubisky return to the Bears?
This seems to suggest that Chicago can keep it close as long as Mitchell Trubisky plays well under center. Unfortunately, he’s set to take on a Saints defense that intercepted 18 passes during the regular year while yielding a sub 60 completion percentage.
For Trubisky, most of his success since replacing Nick Foles under center has come against bad teams. He won’t have this luxury come the NFL Playoffs. That will lead to a double-digit Bears loss.
Cleveland Browns at Pittsburgh Steelers
Browns-Steelers odds and point spread: Steelers -6.0 (over/under 47.5)
Update: Browns HC Kevin Stefanski, OL Joel Bitonio out (COVID-19)
Speaking of teams who took advantage playing inferior competition during the regular year, these Browns come to mind above anyone else set to open the NFL Playoffs this coming weekend. The Browns boasted a 9-0 record against losing teams, averaging 30 points per game. They were 2-5 against winning teams, boasting an average of 22.6 points per outing.
What does this mean for Cleveland as the team looks to collect its first win in the NFL Playoffs since Bill Belichick was its head coach back in 1994? Well, it’s rather simple. The Browns need to play up to the level of their competition here. The good news? Pittsburgh lost four of its final five since an 11-0 start to the season. That included defeats at the hands of the Washington Football Team and Cincinnati Bengals. Talk about playing down to the level of your competition.
There are many ways to bet sports. If you can think of anything to bet on, there's a good possibility you can find somewhere to pick on it. In this document on the different terms used in sports betting lines, including probabilities point spreads lines etc. One of the first aspects of sports betting every new player must learn what the different symbols mean. A plus or minus can mean different things and furious situation. They are used for both point spreads and money line bets, including the price of each jet. A point spread is the number of points projected that separate two teams. A game with a spread will have an underdog (team expected to lose) and a favorite (team expected to win). A favorite 'gives' points and is identified with the negative signs next to the point spreads. The underdog 'gets' points. The spreads happen this way in the gambling of games.College Football, Baseball and Basketball Betting Odds
A money line bet is on a team to win the game outright (with no point spread) at an adjusted cost. The favorite will have negative odds, while the underdog will have positive odds. The difference here is in the prize or payout, depending on which topic. The terms 'over/under' are synonymous when placing wagers. This type of bet is on the sum of the points scored by both teams in a game. The bookie sets the number for the total then you predict whether they will score less or more points than the set number. For basketball and football, the primary display will show the total and points spread. For baseball and hockey, the money lines appear before it is displayed along with the total of the game, more so happens in hockey.Hockey Stanley Cup and Football Super Bowl Point Spreads
Understanding NFL football betting odds & weekly point spread is important. If you plan on NFL football picks, this document will be of essence. It's imperative to use live NFL odds for every spread, total and money line for the games in a given week. If the number is positive, then you bet $100 to win that amount. If the number is negative, you have to wager that amount to win $100.Sometimes it will be necessary to use a conversion chart to translate the money lines to take advantage of the betting opportunities that spreads in a week.Nfl Betting Spreads Week 1
CFB and WNBA Playoff Picks, Nascar and PGA Golf Bets
NBA scoring pace calculator for over and under bets can feel complicated at times. When you bet an NBA total and want to know the current pace of play, you will need to use a calculator to estimate the NBA final score quickly. This tool is useful if you want to know how your basketball over-under bet is looking or if you want to take advantage of the bets opportunities spreads. The same applies to the super bowl and Stanley cup. Without 162 game season per team and 30 teams, MLB is the ultimate sports action for sports gaming. The best MLB betting sites include Betway and Spin palace sports. It is no secret that many people crush bet on MLB, as it has most of the experts.Soccer Odds, British Open Championship and Premier League Betting Lines
Nfl Betting Spreads Week 3
Betting is also done in soccer. Many teams are even sponsored by bookmaking companies. Soccer is one of the most popular sports in the world. At the moment, this is true in the United States. Soccer picks are not overly difficult, even for beginners. You have to decide on which markets to put on focus. There are different markets to welcome, including major domestic leagues such as La Liga Serie A and Bundesliga e t c.MMA UFC and College Basketball Week
The advantage of major domestic leagues is that they offer soccer picks advantages. These include:- Attacking players are in good form
- You can set-piece specialist
- Defenders like to get forward at set-pieces