Bookmakers Brace for Thrilling Wild Card: 'All the Games are Gonna be Big'

Are you ready for the NFL Playoffs?

The party gets started with two games on Saturday, followed by three on Sunday and a Monday night finale. 

American bookmakers generally write tons of betting handle during the postseason because the games serve as money magnets.

More people want action in the playoffs.

"All the games are gonna be big," South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews told me from Las Vegas. "We expect big handles on all the games. I would guess Monday night would be the biggest because it’s the last one, and we’re right on the 3."

Also, bettors will be looking to catch up or double up.

"Definitely," Andrews cracked.

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Saturday night’s showdown between the Chicago Bears and Green Bay Packers is extremely popular in the betting market this week.

Most Vegas outs opened Chicago -1, though Green Bay is now favored everywhere. Andrews is sitting at Packers -1 while some of his peers around town are at -1.5. 

I wouldn’t expect it to climb much higher.  

"I actually like [the Bears] in the game," Andrews said. "Green Bay hasn’t played well down the stretch, and they’re dealing with so many injuries. Chicago has gotten better and better all year under Ben Johnson."

Any bookmaker will tell you Bears bettors tend to put their money where their mouth is during the offseason. There’s never a shortage of cash on Bears Over bets in the win total market and some don’t stop there.

I personally know a handful of Bears fans with tickets to win the NFC and Super Bowl. They’re smaller bets, but boy, do they add up quickly.

"Oh yeah, they got us good on the season win total," Andrews admitted. "Everything else we’re okay. And we’re okay on the Super Bowl. The handle got spread out pretty good. The only team that hurts us is the Niners."

Speaking of the Niners, San Francisco lost to Seattle for the NFC’s No. 1 overall seed last weekend, so now they’re going on the road all the way across the country to face the world champion Philadelphia Eagles.

Bummer.

The Eagles are the sharp side, too. They opened as 3.5-point favorites and quickly got bet to -4 and -4.5 — a supporting move to -5 came on Thursday.

"I would’ve laid a small fortune on 3," one professional bettor told me. "They opened just above it. Still laid 3.5 and a little 4. The Eagles didn’t prioritize the regular season. The Niners scratched and clawed for every yard.

"Seattle absolutely dominated that game last week. And Philly is even better than Seattle in the trenches. Brock Purdy got hit in the elbow and hand late in the game. That’s something I’ll be paying attention to early.

"But Philly’s line play is the key."

Finally, my fingers are now completely crossed for a deep Buffalo Bills playoff run. I’ve written about my Super Bowl positions multiple times this season and if they make a run through the AFC, I’ll be in a tremendous spot.

If they lose to Jacksonville, I’ll be devastated. That said, someone on X asked if I would be betting any Jaguars on Sunday to mitigate some of the risk.

Pfft. No chance.

Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and the BetMGM Network. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. Watch him on FOX Sports’ Bear Bets and follow him on X @spshoot.

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