NFL Playoffs: Chargers, Cardinals advance
NFL Playoffs: Chargers, Cardinals advance
Harry Truman was president the last time the Cardinals won a home playoff game...until last Saturday that is as Arizona popped the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 to advance to the next round of the NFL postseason. Baltimore, Philadelphia and San Diego were the other three winners, with the Chargers remaining the hottest team in the league and booting the Colts from the playoffs with an OT triumph.
Four more NFL teams have been kicked off the island. This past weekend’s Wild-Card Round featured just one upset – although there were no big surprises out of the losing foursome.
Make that two upsets, if you happened to buy the Atlanta Falcons at the open when the betting odds had them favored by 2½ points. The Arizona Cardinals were 1½-point faves by Saturday’s kickoff, and they left Glendale with a 30-24 victory to take their first home playoff game since the 1947 championship. This was the only of the four Wild-Card games to drive the Over to the pay window. As expected, Edgerrin James got plenty of work with 16 carries for 73 yards, giving Arizona’s offense the balance it showed earlier in the season.
Saturday’s other contest was yet another comeback win by the San Diego Chargers. Nate Kaeding tied the game with a last-minute field goal, then Darren Sproles ran one in from 22 yards out to give the Chargers a 23-17 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts (-1½). San Diego’s special-teams advantage was apparent here, as Sproles added 178 return yards to his 105 rushing yards carrying the load for gimpy LaDainian Tomlinson.
Sunday went pretty much according to script. The Baltimore Ravens (-3½) used their punishing defense to smother the Miami Dolphins 27-9, picking Chad Pennington off four times and stuffing the Wildcat for the second time this season. And the Philadelphia Eagles overcame some red-zone struggles to finally put away the Minnesota Vikings (+3) in a 26-14 final. Baltimore’s Ed Reed and Philadelphia’s Asante Samuel both took interception returns to the house to turn the tide for their respective teams.
That sets up the four Division Round games for this weekend. On Saturday, the Ravens will visit the Tennessee Titans (13-3 SU, 12-4 ATS), champions of the AFC South and the No. 1 seeds in the conference. The Titans opened as 3-point favorites with a total of 34, which is also the lowest total of the four contests in question. Tennessee won this matchup 13-10 in Week 5 as a 1-point road chalk. These two teams are virtual mirror images of defense and power running, but it’ll be the veteran Kerry Collins (80.2 QB rating) at the helm for the Titans against the rookie Joe Flacco (80.3).
Saturday’s nightcap sees the Cardinals fly to Carolina to face the 12-4 Panthers (9-6-1 ATS). The Panthers have enjoyed success this season with a clean bill of health for QB Jake Plummer (84.7 rating), while DeAngelo Williams romped for 1,515 yards (on 5.5 yards per carry) and 18 TDs. Arizona’s rush defense is average at best, but the Cards did hold Atlanta’s Michael Turner to 42 yards in the Wild-Card Round. Carolina is favored by a big 10 points regardless on a total of 48.
Sunday’s action starts with a classic NFC East battle between the Eagles and the defending champion New York Giants (12-4 SU and ATS). These two teams split their regular season games, with the Giants winning in Philadelphia and vice versa. New York is a 5-point chalk for the rubber match with a total of 40½ points. Early betting action was split evenly between the two clubs. The Eagles finished the season first in efficiency according to Football Outsiders, with Big Blue in at No. 3.
The Chargers may have drawn the easiest assignment of the four visiting clubs this week. They encounter the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4 SU, 9-7 ATS), who are favored by six points with a total of 39 despite QB Ben Roethlisberger suffering a nasty concussion in Week 17 against Cleveland. Roethlisberger sat out practice this past week and is expected to play Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field. This will be a rematch of the Week 11 game that finished 11-10 in favor of Pittsburgh (-4½). The Steelers are 5-1 SU and ATS since that contest, while San Diego is now on a five-game winning streak at 4-1 ATS.
Harry Truman was president the last time the Cardinals won a home playoff game...until last Saturday that is as Arizona popped the Atlanta Falcons 30-24 to advance to the next round of the NFL postseason. Baltimore, Philadelphia and San Diego were the other three winners, with the Chargers remaining the hottest team in the league and booting the Colts from the playoffs with an OT triumph.
Four more NFL teams have been kicked off the island. This past weekend’s Wild-Card Round featured just one upset – although there were no big surprises out of the losing foursome.
Make that two upsets, if you happened to buy the Atlanta Falcons at the open when the betting odds had them favored by 2½ points. The Arizona Cardinals were 1½-point faves by Saturday’s kickoff, and they left Glendale with a 30-24 victory to take their first home playoff game since the 1947 championship. This was the only of the four Wild-Card games to drive the Over to the pay window. As expected, Edgerrin James got plenty of work with 16 carries for 73 yards, giving Arizona’s offense the balance it showed earlier in the season.
Saturday’s other contest was yet another comeback win by the San Diego Chargers. Nate Kaeding tied the game with a last-minute field goal, then Darren Sproles ran one in from 22 yards out to give the Chargers a 23-17 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts (-1½). San Diego’s special-teams advantage was apparent here, as Sproles added 178 return yards to his 105 rushing yards carrying the load for gimpy LaDainian Tomlinson.
Sunday went pretty much according to script. The Baltimore Ravens (-3½) used their punishing defense to smother the Miami Dolphins 27-9, picking Chad Pennington off four times and stuffing the Wildcat for the second time this season. And the Philadelphia Eagles overcame some red-zone struggles to finally put away the Minnesota Vikings (+3) in a 26-14 final. Baltimore’s Ed Reed and Philadelphia’s Asante Samuel both took interception returns to the house to turn the tide for their respective teams.
That sets up the four Division Round games for this weekend. On Saturday, the Ravens will visit the Tennessee Titans (13-3 SU, 12-4 ATS), champions of the AFC South and the No. 1 seeds in the conference. The Titans opened as 3-point favorites with a total of 34, which is also the lowest total of the four contests in question. Tennessee won this matchup 13-10 in Week 5 as a 1-point road chalk. These two teams are virtual mirror images of defense and power running, but it’ll be the veteran Kerry Collins (80.2 QB rating) at the helm for the Titans against the rookie Joe Flacco (80.3).
Saturday’s nightcap sees the Cardinals fly to Carolina to face the 12-4 Panthers (9-6-1 ATS). The Panthers have enjoyed success this season with a clean bill of health for QB Jake Plummer (84.7 rating), while DeAngelo Williams romped for 1,515 yards (on 5.5 yards per carry) and 18 TDs. Arizona’s rush defense is average at best, but the Cards did hold Atlanta’s Michael Turner to 42 yards in the Wild-Card Round. Carolina is favored by a big 10 points regardless on a total of 48.
Sunday’s action starts with a classic NFC East battle between the Eagles and the defending champion New York Giants (12-4 SU and ATS). These two teams split their regular season games, with the Giants winning in Philadelphia and vice versa. New York is a 5-point chalk for the rubber match with a total of 40½ points. Early betting action was split evenly between the two clubs. The Eagles finished the season first in efficiency according to Football Outsiders, with Big Blue in at No. 3.
The Chargers may have drawn the easiest assignment of the four visiting clubs this week. They encounter the Pittsburgh Steelers (12-4 SU, 9-7 ATS), who are favored by six points with a total of 39 despite QB Ben Roethlisberger suffering a nasty concussion in Week 17 against Cleveland. Roethlisberger sat out practice this past week and is expected to play Sunday afternoon at Heinz Field. This will be a rematch of the Week 11 game that finished 11-10 in favor of Pittsburgh (-4½). The Steelers are 5-1 SU and ATS since that contest, while San Diego is now on a five-game winning streak at 4-1 ATS.