National Football League

Look Between the Lines: Handicapping divisional round of NFL playoffs

Published Jan. 7, 2015 2:28 p.m. ET

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James Hernandez has more than 15 years in the sports handicapping industry and contributeS weekly for FOX Sports as our betting expert. Have comments or questions? Make sure to email him at jameshernandez1981@gmail.com or follow him on Twitter @jhern81.

Baltimore Ravens (+7) over New England Patriots

Every year since 2004 a team from wild-card weekend has gone on the road the following week and captured an outright win. This Baltimore team appears to have the makeup of a team capable of leaving Foxboro with an outright win. According to Marc Lawrence of Vegasinsider.com since 1990 the host teams in this round are an astounding 70-26 SU, but only 49-45-2 ATS. In fact, over the last 10 years the AFC's top seed is only 5-5 in the NFL divisional playoff round. Joe Flacco has now improved his playoff record to 5-0 away from Charm City and is one of the few QBs on the planet to own a winning record vs. New England in the postseason (2-1). This has all the makings of a one possession game, so be safe and take the points as two evenly matched teams do battle for the right to advance to championship weekend.

Seattle Seahawks (-10) over Carolina Panthers

The slipper still fit last Saturday afternoon as the NFL's version of Cinderella was able to extend its playoff stay at the hands of a depleted Arizona Cardinals team. Unfortunately for Carolina, the clock will strike midnight Saturday evening at the hands of the defending Super Bowl champions. After a rash of early-season injuries the defending champs seemingly got hot at the right time, and with a top five defense against both the run and pass they once again seem to be the team to beat in the NFL. Russell Wilson and coach Pete Carroll are almost unbeatable at home going, 24-2 at Century Link Field since the two paired up back in 2012 if you include the playoffs. It's going to take a much more complete and seasoned team to win a playoff game in the Great Northwest, so go ahead and lay the points as the Seahawks begin their quest for a repeat by dismantling an overmatched Panther team Saturday night.

Green Bay Packers (-6) over Dallas Cowboys

This matchup features the "Unstoppable Force" versus the "Immovable Object." For the first time in NFL playoff history a team that has gone the entire season undefeated on the road (Dallas) is matching up with a team that was perfect at home (Green Bay). Rodgers and Romo may be the two names on the marquee, but Nelson, Cobb, Lacey, Murray and Bryant are talents that play second fiddle to no one. This divisional round matchup features 11 All-Pros and is by far the sexiest of all the games being played this weekend. Look for special teams and the Green Bay pass rush to be the difference as the Pack use Detroit's defensive blueprint from a week ago to pressure Romo and neutralize the Dallas rushing attack on their way to a victory Sunday afternoon in Lambeau.

Indianapolis Colts/Denver Broncos over 53.5

Two top five offenses take the field Sunday afternoon in the Mile High City as Peyton Manning and Andrew Luck go head-to-head for a berth in the NFL's final four. These two offensive juggernauts have combined to score 127 points in two previous matchups (63.5 PPG total) which included both QBs combining for 11 TDs and just three interceptions. Jim Feist at Vegasinsider.com reports that the Broncos are on 33-13-1 run with "the over" total at home, plus 43-21-1 "over" against the AFC. Luck and Manning have never met with this much on the line, so it wouldn't surprise anyone if this game turned into a shootout. Sit back and enjoy as two of the brightest young offensive minds in the game (Adam Gase and Pep Hamilton) showcase their play-calling skills with two of the best signal callers in the game today.