APC NFL Picks, Wild Card Playoffs: Will division winners cover massive point spreads?

Three games between divisional opponents each have point spreads of 9.5 points or more. Will any of the underdogs stay within single digits?

For the sixth straight season, the Green Bay Packers will be watching football instead of playing in a game on Wild Card Weekend. However, unlike the last three years, they will not be watching to see who they will play in the Divisional Round; instead, the Packers are out of the postseason, the first time they have failed to make the playoffs in Matt LaFleur’s tenure as head coach.

With the Packers out, fans of the team — and those who cover them — can watch this weekend’s games entirely focused on the football rather than any potential seeding implications that may result. And, as usual, we at Acme Packing Company have made our picks for each of the six games taking place across the NFL this weekend.

Three of the games match up divisional foes, and unsurprisingly, the division winners — who of course get the right to host the games — are significant favorites. In fact, the 49ers, Bengals, and Bills are each favored by more than 9 points against the Seahawks, Ravens, and Dolphins, respectively, with the Bills currently set to be the biggest favorites in the history of the Wild Card round with a 13.5-point edge.

Perhaps most bizarre is that all three of those games might involve one team starting its third-string quarterback. The Ravens will be down to either backup Tyler Huntley or third-stringer Anthony Brown while the Dolphins are planning to start rookie Skylar Thompson. Thompson would be one of the latest-drafted rookie quarterbacks ever to start a postseason game if not for the 49ers and Brock Purdy, who was drafted 15 picks after Thompson with the 262nd (and final) selection of the 2022 NFL Draft. Of course, the 49ers are the favorites in their game against the Seahawks after finishing the season 13-4 and 5-0 with Purdy as a starter.

Will these big favorites cover these huge point spreads this weekend? Check out our game picks below for the weekend’s games and join us over the next three days as we follow along with all of the action from the upcoming games.