{"id":123478,"date":"2020-01-04T01:00:04","date_gmt":"2020-01-04T09:00:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/?p=123478"},"modified":"2020-01-03T10:18:43","modified_gmt":"2020-01-03T18:18:43","slug":"afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/","title":{"rendered":"AFC Wild Card Odds: Texans, Patriots Favored in First-Round Playoff Matchups"},"content":{"rendered":"

Home teams are expected to win out in Sunday\u2019s NFL action, as the Houston Texans and New England Patriots<\/a> have been installed as favorites in the AFC wild card games.<\/p>\n

\"AFC
Tom Brady will lead the New England Patriots against the Tennessee Titans in an AFC wild card game on Saturday. (Image: UPI)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

The Texans are listed as a three-point favorite over the Buffalo Bills<\/a>, while New England is a five-point pick over the Tennessee Titans, according to odds posted by DraftKings Sportsbook.<\/p>\n

Allen Faces Tough Test vs. Texans Defense<\/strong><\/h2>\n

The AFC South champion Texans (10-6) will start Saturday\u2019s action when they host the surprising Bills (10-6), who nabbed the first wild card spot in the AFC.<\/p>\n

Buffalo has one of the longest playoff droughts in the NFL, having lost five straight postseason games since their last win, which came back in 1995. But quarterback Josh Allen enjoyed a breakthrough year in his second season, rushing for nine touchdowns \u2013 a league-best for quarterbacks \u2013 while throwing for 20 more scores.<\/p>\n

Allen hasn\u2019t been heralded as one of the league\u2019s top young quarterbacks, though his exciting play has \u2013 more often than not \u2013 produced results for Buffalo this year. A playoff game will provide perhaps the biggest test yet for the 23-year-old out of Wyoming. According to Allen, he\u2019s treating it like just another game.<\/p>\n

[It\u2019s] still the game of football, the dimensions are the same, we have the same plays that we\u2019ve had in all year,\u201d Allen told reporters. \u201cWe\u2019re not trying to do anything different\u2026we\u2019ve got to go out there and execute.\u201d<\/strong><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Meanwhile, the Texans could potentially get a huge boost on defense, as J.J. Watt will be back in the lineup after missing two months because of a torn pectoral muscle. While it\u2019s unclear just how much Watt will be able to contribute, he will certainly add another veteran presence to a team that\u2019s hardly lacking in leadership.<\/p>\n

\u201cWe\u2019ve got a lot of leaders, and I think all other guys in the locker room always step up and try to do what\u2019s best for the team,\u201d Texans coach Bill O\u2019Brien told reporters. \u201cI don\u2019t think that was any different this week. I think everybody has been really focused this week.\u201d<\/p>\n

Patriots Unfamiliar With AFC Wild Card Round<\/strong><\/h2>\n

In the second AFC wild card game, the Patriots (12-4) find themselves in an unusual position: playing in the first round of the postseason for the first time since 2009. In the decade since then, New England has always had a first-round bye. And while this turn of events is partly because of some bad luck for the Pats \u2013 a 12-4 record is frequently enough to earn one of the top two seeds in the conference \u2013 the fact that the Patriots lost three of their last five games has many fans and pundits asking if this might be the end of the New England dynasty.<\/p>\n

That talk is unlikely to affect 42-year-old Tom Brady, who has more playoff wins than all of the other starting quarterbacks in this year\u2019s NFL playoffs combined. Brady is also in the final year of his contract, meaning he could potentially test the free agent waters this off-season.<\/p>\n

I haven\u2019t thought about those things,\u201d Brady told reporters. \u201cI just approach practice like I always have, and try to do the best I can do. That\u2019s what I\u2019m going to do this weekend as well.\u201d<\/em><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

On the other side of the coin, the Titans (9-7) have boasted one of the league\u2019s most dynamic offenses since making Ryan Tannehill their starting quarterback in Week 7, with the former Dolphin leading the NFL in passer rating. While it would still be an upset for the Titans to go into New England and find a way to win, this is undoubtedly a case of two teams heading in opposite directions as they enter the postseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s thrown the ball very accurately and making great decisions,\u201d Patriots coach Bill Belichick said of Tannehill in the lead-up to Saturday\u2019s game. \u201cI think he\u2019s been a good quarterback throughout his career\u2026he\u2019s played well for the Titans, but played well in Miami, too.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Home teams are expected to win out in Sunday\u2019s NFL action, as the Houston Texans and New England Patriots have been installed as favorites in the AFC wild card games. The Texans are listed as a three-point favorite over the Buffalo Bills, while New England is a five-point pick over the Tennessee Titans, according to […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":42,"featured_media":123479,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[16,1074],"tags":[],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nAFC Wild Card Odds: Texans, Patriots Favored in First-Round Matchups<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"The AFC wild card games see the Texans take on a surprising Buffalo Bills squad, while the Patriots find themselves in an unfamiliar position.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, follow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"AFC Wild Card Odds: Texans, Patriots Favored in First-Round Matchups\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The AFC wild card games see the Texans take on a surprising Buffalo Bills squad, while the Patriots find themselves in an unfamiliar position.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Casino.org\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/Casino.OrgNews\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2020-01-04T09:00:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2020-01-03T18:18:43+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AFC-Wild-Card-Games.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"2000\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1334\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@Casino_Org\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Casino.org Staff Writer\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/\",\"name\":\"AFC Wild Card Odds: Texans, Patriots Favored in First-Round Matchups\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AFC-Wild-Card-Games.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2020-01-04T09:00:04+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2020-01-03T18:18:43+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/8c48bf89dc86da77b4d856c7b3b78d77\"},\"description\":\"The AFC wild card games see the Texans take on a surprising Buffalo Bills squad, while the Patriots find themselves in an unfamiliar position.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/afc-wild-card-odds-texans-patriots-favored-in-first-round-matchups\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AFC-Wild-Card-Games.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.casino.org\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/01\/AFC-Wild-Card-Games.jpg\",\"width\":2000,\"height\":1334,\"caption\":\"Tom Brady will lead the New England Patriots against the Tennessee Titans in an AFC wild card game on Saturday. 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