NFL Betting – Saturday Divisional Playoff Round Games 2020

Breaking a five-year playoff drought in style, the NFC’s top-seeded San Francisco 49ers look to keep things rolling against the upset-minded Minnesota Vikings, who went into the Big Easy last week as a 7.5-point dog and walked out with a thrilling overtime victory. Kirk Cousins got his first playoff win and San Fran’s Jimmy Garoppolo will try and do the same on Saturday. The AFC’s top seed is in action in the late game with Lamarr Jackson and the Baltimore Ravens looking to knock down the Tennessee Titans, who ensured there would be a new Super Bowl champion this season by taking out the Patriots last week.  For Live Odds Go Here

Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers

Date and Time: Saturday, January 11, 2020, 4:35 p.m. ET

Location: Levi’s Stadium, Santa Clara, CA

Opening NFL Odds: San Francisco -6.5, O/U 45.5

Vikings at 49ers TV Coverage: NBC

Minnesota Vikings at San Francisco 49ers Preview

Cousins got the monkey off his back leading the Vikings on a game-winning touchdown drive in overtime to beat the Saints for his first playoff win as a starter. Minnesota benefitted from a strong defensive game limiting the Saints to 324 yards while forcing a pair of turnovers. The Vikes will need a similar effort on that side of the football to advance, though the numbers are stacked against them. Teams entering the postseason as the No. 6 seed have dropped eight straight games in the divisional round and have advanced to the championship game just five times in 24 chances since 1990.

The return of Dalvin Cook inspired the offense last week. After missing the last two regular season games, Cook rushed for 94 yards and two touchdowns against a Saints defense that yielded just over 91 yards per game going in. The Vikings also controlled the clock by possessing the football for nearly 37 minutes. That strategy would prove helpful against the Niners, who had the second-highest scoring offense in the NFL during the regular year.

The Niners are playing their first home playoff game since beating the Packers in the divisional round in the 2012 season. It’s also the first career postseason start for Garoppolo, who never got a chance backing up that guy Brady in New England. Simply put there is an additional layer of pressure come playoff time and Jimmy G has yet to experience it, so you can expect the Vikings to bring the pressure in an attempt to fluster him. It might work, but the Niners have leaned on an impressive ground game this season that will take pressure off their quarterback. The trio of Raheem Mostert, Matt Breida and Tevin Coleman all ran for over 540 yards and the Niners had the second-most productive attack in the NFL with an average of 144.1 yards per game. The defense also regressed over the last quarter of the season surrendering 31.8 points per game compared to just 15.3 over the first 12 outings. Can the Vikings go on the road as a big underdog and beat a 13-win team for the second straight week? I don’t think so, but the points are enticing.

NFL Score Prediction: San Francisco 27, Minnesota 23

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens

Date and Time: Saturday, January 11, 2020, 8:15 p.m. ET

Location: MT Bank Stadium, Baltimore, MD

Opening NFL Odds: Baltimore -9.5, O/U 48

Titans at Ravens TV Coverage: CBS

Tennessee Titans at Baltimore Ravens Preview

This game will certainly buck the trend of what has become a pass-happy league. And oddsmakers are counting on Baltimore’s No. 1 ground game to get the better of the Titans. The AFC’s top-seed opened as the biggest favorite of the weekend laying 9.5-points. The line bounced between 9-10 points before settling -9. Tennessee’s upset last week of the defending champs wasn’t pretty, but it was a win and moved the Titans into the next round. And they’ll need much of the same to pull off another upset. Derrick Henry will have to outshine Jackson in this one.

Henry one-upped Tom Brady last week by rushing for 182 yards with a 22-yard reception for 204 scrimmage yards against one of the top defenses in the NFL. And if it wasn’t for those heroics we wouldn’t be talking about the Titans, since the offense was awful otherwise. Ryan Tannehill was just 8 of 15 for 72 yards with a pick and two fumbles, though he didn’t lose any. Still, those types of mistakes can stall an offense. And going from Brady to Jackson is a big change for the Titans’ defense.

Tennessee was decent against the run and held the Pats to 98 yards last week. It appears as though Mark Ingram is ready to return after the bye, which is a boost to the Ravens, who averaged 206 yards on the ground during the regular season. And stopping Jackson proved difficult. The MVP ran for 1,206 yards and threw for 3,127 in an offense that morphed around his talents. Jackson pissed down his leg in last year’s playoff loss and he spent the entire season waiting for redemption. He gets it against the Titans.

NFL Score Prediction: Baltimore 33, Tennessee 20

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- Phil Simon, Gambling911.com