The 49ers finally start their postseason. Can they avoid getting knocked out by Jordan Love?
The San Francisco 49ers and Baltimore Ravens are easily the two biggest favorites to face off in the Super Bowl. With the first playoff action of the season underway this week, the Niners and Ravens can enjoy the fruits of their regular-season success by enjoying a BYE. The rest of the teams in the postseason, on the other hand, face a win or go home weekend.
Odds for all the games are available on DraftKings Sportsbook.
Here are Marc’s picks:
Ravens over Texans and 49ers over Packers: I’m tempted by the +330 odds for both the Texans and Packers. Both teams have talented young quarterbacks that have been impressively good at avoiding turnovers. However, they are squaring up against well-rested juggernauts. Sure, it’s obviously possible that rust and a couple of bad bounces could lead to a preemptive exit for the top seeds, and Jake Moody’s limitations puts the Niners in a particularly precarious late-game spot. Still, the 49ers and Ravens have been too good all season to pick against them at this point.
Lions over Bucs: The Lions have drawn the easiest divisional round opponent, and are in excellent position to capitalize. Todd Bowles’ penchant for generating pressure could spell trouble for Jared Goff, but Detroit has the tools to counter blitzes well if he doesn’t panic.
Kansas City over Buffalo: The Bills have been a better team than Kansas City all year long, and Josh Allen is one of the few quarterbacks capable of outplaying Patrick Mahomes when everything goes right. ’s erratic play always makes me tempted to pick heavy underdogs against him, after all Buffalo is -500. It’s just hard for me to get behind Mason Rudolph as a playoff threat.
Here are the four games to pick (times in Pacific):
Texans @ Ravens, 1:30 PM (Saturday)
Packers @ 49ers, 5:15 PM (Saturday)
Bucs @ Lions, 12:00 PM (Sunday)
Kansas City @ Bills, 3:30 PM (Sunday)
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