The Divisional Round is almost upon us, and there are 4 really great match-ups to look forward to this weekend. One of the most intriguing of the bunch sees the Green Bay Packers head to the University of Phoenix Stadium to face the Arizona Cardinals. This game is set for Saturday, January 16 at 8:15 PM EST on NBC. Click here for our NFL betting lines.
The Cardinals have been installed as a 7-point favorite for this match-up, which seems like a very good bet when you consider that they already have a 38-8 win over the Packers under their belts this season. The playoffs are a different kettle of fish, though, and pressure has killed more than one favorite over the years. The Packers have the playoff pedigree here, and may well be a solid bet at +250. The game total for this one is set at 50.5.
Why bet on the Cardinals at odds of -300
The most obvious reason to go with the Cardinals in this one is because of how badly they beat the Packers in their last meeting. That win was as dominating as the score suggests, with the Cardinals sacking Green Bay QB Aaron Rodgers 8 times. The Packer were missing a couple of guys on the O-line that day, which may help explain why the Cardinals were able to get to Rodgers on such a regular basis. Even if they can’t repeat that effort this weekend, Arizona still has an offense that can score early and often. Their 30.6 PPG in the regular season was 2ns best in the NFL.
Why bet on the Packers at odds of +250
The Machiavellian Aaron Rodgers has had an outstanding performance.
As I mentioned earlier in this piece, the playoffs are entirely different than the regular season. The pressure gets taken up a few notches, and it is often the teams with the most playoff experience who prevail. Aaron Rodgers has a Super Bowl ring to his name, while opposing QB Carson Palmer can’t seem to buy a win in the postseason. It takes more than a QB to win a game, though, and the Packers certainly have plenty of playmakers on the defensive side of the ball. Julius Peppers and hi 10.5 season sacks is one to keep an eye on, as is Clay Matthews. If the Packers can slow down the Cardinals offense, there is no reason they cannot get the win.
Expert Pick and Final Score Prediction
The Cardinals didn’t end the regular season on a high, but they will still be a confident bunch knowing how easily they handled the Packers in Week 16. I don’t see them winning that big this time around, but I do think they will move on to the NFC Conference Final.
Arizona Cardinals 26 Green Bay Packers 20
