Will Any Of The Divisional Round Playoff Games Go Into OT?

• Surprisingly, two games went into overtime in the Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs.
• Every home team in the Divisional Round is the betting favorite.
• The Baltimore Ravens still have the shortest odds to win the Super Bowl at +200.

BALTIMORE – The first weekend of the NFL postseason action featured two stunning upsets as the defending Super Bowl champion New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints were both eliminated in the first round by the sixth seed in their respective conferences.

Furthermore, the loss marked the first time the Patriots won’t participate in the Divisional Round of the playoffs since 2009. What may have been equally as surprising is that two games went into overtime during the Wild Card Round.

With the Divisional round set to begin this weekend, we’ve examined each matchup and have a breakdown of the odds with a focus on whether any Divisional round playoff game will see an overtime period.

Houston Texans vs. Kansas City Chiefs (-9.5) @ 4:35 P.M.

The Houston Texans and Kansas City Chiefs game will feature two quarterbacks drafted in the same year competing for a spot in the AFC Championship game in DeShaun Watson and Patrick Mahomes. These teams met earlier this year in Week 6 with the Texans beating the Chiefs at Arrowhead 31-24.

Kansas City comes into this game as 9.5-point favorites but if this game flows as it did in Week 6, an overtime period is extremely likely. The odds for placing a game prop bet for this matchup to go to overtime has the “Yes” odds listed at +1000 while the “No” odds are at -4000.

Taking the “Yes” odds as any small amount will net bettors a bigger profit as two of the best young quarterbacks in the NFL duel it out. The only thing that may keep this game from going to overtime is if the Deshaun Watson  or Patrick Mahomes leads a game-winning drive.

This wouldn't be out of the ordinary because Watson was tied for most game-winning drives in the NFL this season with five. However, if the game is close and one of the kickers misses a kick, overtime will likely be the only option in deciding which team will be in the AFC Championship game.

Winner: “Yes” (+1000)

Minnesota Vikings vs. San Francisco 49ers (-7) @ 8:15 P.M.

The Minnesota Vikings survived the second overtime game of the postseason with a 26-20 win over the New Orleans Saints on the road. The 49ers defense will have to stop Vikings running back Dalvin Cook  or this could be the second straight upset that the Vikings pull off.

With the 49ers only set as seven-point favorites, this could be a game that goes into overtime as both teams lean on their running backs heavily and have strong defenses to keep this a very close matchup.

Just a season ago both teams were on the outside looking in at the playoffs and now they’ll face each other with only one win needed to play in the NFC Championship game. This game is expected to be close and both teams are evenly matched which creates the perfect opportunity for an overtime game to occur.

Sportsbooks have listed a game prop that has the “Yes” odds for this game going to overtime listed at +950 while the “No” odds are at -3300. Taking the “Yes” here may be a wise decision. That is because with these teams both being evenly matched on offense and having strong defenses, this game should be low scoring but close throughout.

However, if either team can get its offense going early, this game could get ugly fast.

Winner: “Yes” (+950)

Tennessee Titans vs. Baltimore Ravens (-9) @ 3:05 P.M.

The Baltimore Ravens have been the best team in the NFL throughout most of the regular season and the Tennessee Titans, after making the switch to Ryan Tannehill at quarterback, have been among one of the best teams in the league.

The Titans must be extremely confident heading into this game after beating the New England Patriots in Foxborough. The Ravens are the No. 1 seed in the AFC and for good reason, they’ve got this year’s MVP in quarterback Lamar Jackson while also having one of the stingiest defenses in the NFL.

The Ravens are easily one of the most complete teams in the league and it’s hard to see the Titans keeping up with the Ravens offense averaging 33.1 points per game. The Titans do have running back Derrick Henry but if they get down early to the Ravens, they’ll have to completely abandon their running game and that will be good news for the Ravens defense.

The Ravens are nine-point favorites and this game is very unlikely to go to overtime. If the prop still interests you, the “Yes” odds are listed at +950, while the “No” odds are at -3300.

Winner: “No” (-3300)

Seattle Seahawks vs. Green Bay Packers (-4) @ 6:40 P.M.

The matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and the Green Bay Packers have always been tightly contested over their past two meetings because both games came down to the wire and with an NFC Championship berth on the line the same can be expected from this matchup.

Aaron Rodgers  and Russell Wilson are also the only two quarterbacks remaining in the playoffs that have Super Bowl experience.

This game has the best chance of going into overtime and even history supports it.

The last time these two teams met in the playoffs the Seahawks won in overtime 28-22. This game will be very close and both teams have been in close games throughout the season with the Packers having an 8-1 record in games decided by eight points or less and the Seahawks have posted an 11-2 record this season in close games.

BettingSuperBowl.com feels this game will ultimately be decided by which quarterback can make the most plays with their arm and it may very well take an overtime period to find out which quarterback will be playing in the NFC Championship game.

With the “Yes” odds for this game at +850 and the “No” listed at -2500, bettors can roll the dice on the “Yes” because both teams are built to play in close games and this matchup is probably the most likely to see a game go into overtime.

Winner: “Yes” (+850)