Wild Card Trends
By Marc Lawrence
VegasInsider.com
Don’t look now but the 2015 NFL season is in the rear view mirror and with it the start of the Wild Card playoff games begins this Saturday.
Let’s take a look at some of the best, and worst, trends surrounding this weekend’s card. Here’s a brief capsule of the teams and noteworthy trends…
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly
Kansas City at Houston
Good: Texans are 6-2 ATS as home dogs in games with both teams off a win
Bad: Chiefs coach Andy Reid is 2-9 SU and 3-8 ATS vs playoff foes off BB wins
Ugly: Chiefs are 2-8 SU and 0-10 ATS in last ten Wild Card Round games
Pittsburgh at Cincinnati
Good: Steelers 7-3 SU and 8-2 ATS L10 non Super Bowl postseason games
Bad: Wild Card Round road favorites are 6-15-1 ATS
Ugly: Bengals head coach Marvin Lewis is 0-6 SU/ATS in playoff games
Seattle at Minnesota
Good: Seattle QB Russell Wilson is 6-2 SU and 5-3 ATS in the postseason
Bad: Seahawks head coach Pete Carroll is 1-4 SU as a playoff visitor
Ugly: Super Bowl losers are 0-4-2 ATS away off a win in Wild Card rounds
Green Bay at Washington
Good: Washington is 6-2 SU/ATS in Wild Card Round games
Bad: Green Bay is 1-4 SU/ATS vs. foes with a winning record this season
Ugly: Teams who won 4 fewer games last season are 1-12 SU/ATS as Wild Cards
ATS Diabetes
Like kids in a candy store, NFL Wild Card teams playing off huge regular season wins tend to crash-and-burn in these playoff openers.
That’s because Wild Card teams, off a season-ending SU double-digit win as an underdog win, are just 5-15 SU and 4-15-1 ATS.
The Redskins and the Seahawks could be up against it this weekend.
Stat of the Week
The straight-up winner in NFL Wild Card Round playoff games is 111-12-4 ATS since 1980.