The playoffs start on Saturday as the first 8 teams battle it out for a trip to the seeded teams next weekend.  3 of these are rematches of last weekend’s games.  With a number of players rested then makes for a different game this weekend.  After a successful regular season of betting and tipping, here are my wildcard picks:

Saturday 9th January 2010
New York Jets @ Cincinnati Bengals
Two strong defences. Two power running games. The difference could be at quarterback. While Cincinnati have the experienced and talented Carson Palmer, New York are left with the underperforming rookie, Mark Sanchez. If the Bengals force him to beat them, they’re in luck. But if the Jets can get their running game going and prevent the Bengals from running the ball successfully as they did last week we could have a different story on our hands. I’m favouring the home team in this one for the aforementioned reasons.

Pick: Cincinnati

Saturday 9th January 2010
Philadelphia Eagles @ Dallas Cowboys
The Dallas Cowboys will be looking to make it 3 wins over division rivals Philadelphia this weekend. While some are right to think Tony Romo is due a bad game, it appears he has put that behind him. He and the Dallas Cowboys are in good form at the moment and will beat the same Philadelphia side they shutout last week. The Eagles have problems with their makeshift offensive line that will hurt their running game and potentially Donovan McNabb’s time in the pocket. Their strongest weapon is a deep pass to DeSean Jackson, but the Cowboys have more than one way to beat you. I’m all over the Cowboys here and potentially the widest margin of victory this weekend could be here.

Pick: Dallas

Sunday 10th January 2010
Balitmore Ravens @ New England Patriots
The toughest one to call. The thing that stands out to me is Patriots passing offence versus the Ravens pass defence. The Patriots much prefer passing than running the ball and the Ravens secondary is weak. While they won’t have much or any success running the ball, they should be able to get Randy Moss deep down the field. The Patriot pass defence is suspect too, as is their pass rush. But I’m not convinced Joe Flacco will take full advantage of this. They will aim to establish the ground game with Ray Rice. If Patriots stop that they win. Even if they don’t I think they will come out narrowly on top even without Wes Welker.

Pick: New England

Sunday 10th January 2010
Green Bay Packers @ Arizona Cardinals
A battle between two top quarterbacks should make for a shootout here. Attention will be on Larry Fitzgerald after his standout performance in the playoffs last year. The Packers need to disrupt the Cardinals passing game by getting to Warner. They do create plenty of turnovers. On offence, Aaron Rodgers should enjoy success against this defence whilst neither team will pay particular attention to the running game. I guess that means it comes down to the team who makes the least mistakes, or the team that creates the most turnovers. I’m favouring the Packers to win for a second week in a row in Arizona.

Pick: Green Bay

Bet365 are our number 1 choice for NFL betting. With the best odds for Game Lines, Points Spread, they also provide bonuses of up to 50% on NFL accumulators. Find out by signing up to Bet365 today!