NFL Playoffs Divisional Round betting recap: Inside the week's biggest upsets and best bets

As the NFL season winds to a drum-rolling close, it's instructive to revisit last summer. It would dispel any doubts on how unpredictable the sport can be from a betting standpoint.

In futures wagering to win the Super Bowl, the odds suggested a matchup between Buffalo and Tampa Bay. Both reached the playoffs but are gone before the semifinals. Of the next three teams carrying the lowest odds at most sportsbooks, two were Green Bay and the Los Angeles Rams. Neither qualified for the postseason. (Comparable odds were assigned to Kansas City, which remains alive.) Three more were bunched in the next grouping. The L.A. Chargers and Dallas have been eliminated. Denver was dead in the water by midseason.

Not until after all of those teams did San Francisco, Cincinnati and Philadelphia appear on the futures oddsboard at many books. They comprise 75% of the surviving field. 

Top 'Dogs

 An easy call. Cincinnati was the lone underdog to win outright, and it did so on the receiving end of six points from Buffalo.

Damar Hamlin, the miracle Bill who was revived after suffering cardiac arrest just 20 days earlier, was in the house. Snow was swirling — which, for Hamlin's teammates  and Buffalo folks, is like every other winter Sunday. The Bengals were missing three-fifths of their usual offensive line.

Yet Cincinnati dominated like no other team over the weekend beside Philadelphia. The Bengals stacked up an astonishing 30 first downs while coasting to a 27-10 win.

Bad Beats

Not a terrible one, but those who played Kansas City at -8.5 to -9.5 on the spread were crying at the end in their half-and-half.

The Jaguars trailed by 10 points when they launched their final possession from the 33-yard line with just 1:04 left. They advanced to the Chiefs' 30 and opted for a field goal try on fourth-and-5 with 33 ticks remaining instead of seeking a first down. 

It sailed sufficiently straight and true, giving the Jaguars a backdoor cover. 

How the Books Fared

Quite well, if action at Caesars is any indication.

The heaviest plays against the spread were on the Chiefs and the Bills, neither of whom covered. Wagering on the other pair of games was more evenly divided, with the public gaining a split.

On totals betting, the bulk of customers scored on Unders with the Chiefs-Jaguars and Eagles-Giants. With Unders sweeping the weekend, the public lost by mostly going Over on the other two contests.

A bold bettor from Kansas plunked down $100,000 on the Chiefs' moneyline at -480. A Chiefs straight-up defeat would have helped Caesars' bottom line. Instead, the bettor pocketed $20,833.33.

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