Dallas Cowboys Currently Seven Point Favourites Over Detroit Lions

Published on January 1st, 2015 6:07 pm EST
The NFL playoffs get underway this weekend with four games - Arizona vs Carolina, Baltimore vs Pittsburgh, Cincinnati vs Indianapolis and Detroit vs Dallas.

Heading into the weekend, the biggest favourites to win are the Carolina Panthers (six point favourites) and the Dallas Cowboys (7 point favourites). The Steelers and Colts, both of whom will be enjoying home field advantage, are both listed as three point favourites.

Let's take a quick look at each game:

Arizona vs Carolina (-6)

The Cardinals, despite having an excellent season, will be very shorthanded headed into this contest thanks to their QB situation. The Cardinals will be putting out their third string QB against the Panthers. The Panthers, on the other hand, are enjoying some fantastic momentum after crushing the Falcons in the last week of the season to earn their playoff spot. The Cardinals only real chance of winning, it would seem, would be to edge the Panthers in a very low scoring affair.

Baltimore vs Pittsburgh (-3)

The Steelers may be without Le'Veon Bell this weekend after he suffered a knee injury in the Steelers last game of the season. If Bell is out of the lineup or limited, the Steelers will have to rely heavily on Antonio Brown. If Bell is healthy, the Ravens will have a tough time stopping the multiple explosive weapons that the Steelers possess. If Bell isn't healthy, the gameplan changes dramatically for the Steelers and it will be much harder for them to win.

Cincinnati vs Indianapolis (-3)

Many have called the Colts a "paper tiger", while the Bengals have had notorious issues winning in the playoffs. It's easy to see how this game might turn into a shooting gallery - the big question, of course, is how will Andy Dalton perform, especially if his top target, AJ Green, is limited due to injury?

Detroit vs Dallas (-7)

The league's top rusher, DeMarco Murray, will be going against the league's top rushing defense in this NFC clash. Tony Romo has a reputation for "choking" in the playoffs - how will he perform if the Lions are able to neutralize the rushing attack of the Cowboys? Many people feel that the 7 point spread is too generous - it will be interesting to see how this game turns out.

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There are some fantastic games scheduled for this weekend - who do you think will come out on top?