There were two big surprises on wild card weekend: the defending NFL champion New England Patriots were knocked out before the divisional playoff round for the first time in 10 years and the 13-3 New Orleans Saints \u2013 viewed by many as the best team in the conference \u2013 lost at home to the Minnesota Vikings. The divisional playoff round has a pair of No. 6 seeds playing the top seeds and while it seems that the high seeds have the scenarios they wanted, but then again, after the Patriots and Saints went out, do high seeds and home field really matter that much? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
A prop has been posted on either the San Francisco 49ers or Baltimore Ravens winning the Super Bowl versus everyone else, and you\u2019re getting odds of -110. Is it a good bet to take?<\/p>\n\n\n\n
It was shocking to see the Patriots and Saints both lose at home, partly because of reputation, partly because of their quality this season. The Patriots\u2019 offense was weak, yes, but their defense was always good this season, and moreover, they allowed just 14 points to the Tennessee Titans. If you had said that the Titans would score just 14 points on the road against the defending champions of the NFL, hardly anyone would have bet that those 14 points would have been enough to win. The Patriots were worse than most people expected, and now their run of three straight Super Bowls is over. The Baltimore Ravens don\u2019t have to worry about facing Tom Brady and Bill Belichick in an AFC Championship Game. The Pats had made eight straight AFC title games. They know how to handle those moments, so Baltimore should be relieved to not have to face the pressure of playing the Patriots for a trip to the Super Bowl.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Saints lost by only two points to the San Francisco 49ers in the regular season, in what many people believed was the game of the year in the NFL. The Saints won three more games than the Minnesota Vikings in the regular season and were heavily favored to beat Minnesota in the wild card round. Yet, Drew Brees committed two huge turnovers and Kirk Cousins plainly outplayed him. Few people expected that to happen, but it did, and now the Saints are sitting home. They won\u2019t get a chance to play the second-seeded Packers, and they obviously can\u2019t challenge the 49ers in the NFC Championship Game. The strong NFC playoff field has been eroded. The 49ers could not have asked for a better layout than what they have entering divisional weekend.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Ravens winning the AFC is very hard to bet against right now. Baltimore won\u2019t have to face Deshaun Watson and Houston in the divisional round. Tennessee is a much more favorable matchup for the Ravens. Then they would host the Texans or the Chiefs. Baltimore lost to Kansas City in the regular season, but the game was close and played in Kansas City. Hosting the Chiefs would be a game the Ravens would expect to win. The fact that none of the other AFC rosters have Super Bowl experience \u2013 the Texans have never played in the game, the Chiefs haven\u2019t made a Super Bowl in 50 years, and the Titans\u2019 last Super Bowl was 20 years ago \u2013 should make the task easier for the Ravens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The NFC is where intrigue still exists. The 49ers have the NFC\u2019s best remaining team now that the Saints are out, but the 49ers haven\u2019t played in the playoffs before \u2013 not these 49er players. Jimmy Garoppolo will play his first playoff game this Saturday. Most of the guys on the roster will be new to the playoffs. San Francisco is the favorite to win the NFC, but no one knows how the team will handle the pressure. The Vikings played great at New Orleans, so they are capable of giving the Niners a good game. If San Francisco wins, it will have to beat Aaron Rodgers and the Packers or Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks to make the Super Bowl. The AFC seems clear-cut for the Ravens, but the Niners face a bigger challenge in the NFC. Don\u2019t be shocked if Ravens-Vikings or Ravens-Packers becomes Super Bowl LIV on February 2.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
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