Ross Williams previews the Super Wildcard round of NFL fixtures, with a 6/1 Sunday treble among his selections.
NFL betting tips: Wildcard Weekend
Saturday
2pts Carolina Panthers (+10.5) at 10/11 (General)
Sunday
2pts Buffalo Bills (-1.5) at 10/11 (General)
2pts Philadelphia Eagles (-4.5) at 5/6 (Betfred)
2pts New England Patriots (-3.5) at 20/21 (bet365)
1pt treble Bills, Eagles, Patriots at 6/1 (General)
Monday
2pts Houston Texans (-3) at 20/21 (bet365, SpreadEx)
Los Angeles Rams @ Carolina Panthers
Super Wildcard Weekend kicks off in the Queen City, as the NFC South champion Panthers host the Los Angeles Rams.
There is a four-win disparity in the regular season records of these teams and, for many, the Rams shape like a genuine Super Bowl contender. They’re well-coached, experienced on the biggest of stages and it appears they have the MVP-in-waiting at quarterback.
Matt Stafford’s team are widely expected to deal with this opening encounter and book their place in the divisional round – and I’m not about to argue against the masses – but the size of the spread does appeal to me.
Carolina may be one of the weaker outfits heading into the postseason, but they’re no mugs and their home-field advantage this weekend shouldn’t be underestimated.
The Rams lost three of their last four regular season games on the road, including their most-recent visit to Charlotte in late November, so this isn’t a gimme by any means.
I expect a Rams win, but a Carolina team with 75,000 fans on their side and almost zero pressure certainly have the ability to stay within double figures of their opponents.
Green Bay Packers @ Chicago Bears
This one’s a ‘pick ‘em’ for a reason, and I think we’d be wise to leave it alone.
The clash between the NFC North rivals has very little in it. The spread stands at just 1.5 points at the time of writing, both teams stumbled over the line somewhat in the regular season and -crucially – the 2025 series between the two teams stands at one win each.
If anything was to entice here, it would be the home underdog. The sway would be marginally towards the Bears outright at 11/10, but that’s based almost purely on Soldier Field being the location of this match-up. It’s certainly not enough to inspire a confident punt.
Sit back, enjoy and keep the powder dry for Sunday.
Buffalo Bills @ Jacksonville Jaguars
There are plenty of reasons to take the Jaguars this weekend. They haven’t tasted defeat since early November, they have a top-five defence and their form at home has been as good as anybody’s this season.
Anyone who sways that way on Sunday, I get it, but I simply can’t go against Josh Allen.
Before a ball was thrown or kicked this season, Buffalo were my Super Bowl selection and – although it hasn’t been smooth sailing to this point – the scenario Allen and co. have found themselves in is beyond what they could have dreamed of, back in September.
Buffalo have been excellent for a half-decade, but the AFC’s stacked quarterback roster has always presented too many obstacles. But this season, they find themselves three games from the promised land, with Patrick Mahomes, Joe Burrow and Lamar Jackson nowhere to be seen.
Don’t get me wrong, the challenges ahead are still stiff and the Jaguars themselves have been right up there with the NFL’s best down the stretch. But this playoff series just feels tailormade for Josh Allen. He’s the most talented quarterback on this side of the draw (and probably overall) and he’s riding with an offence that boasts the best offensive line in the NFL and the league’s leading rusher.
Despite the talent of Jacksonville, losing Buffalo in round one would be a colossal shock and I just can’t see the Bills folding in a situation that Sean McDermott has built them for.
San Francisco 49ers @ Philadelphia Eagles
We’re perhaps having a different conversation about this game if we were about to see a fully healthy San Francisco 49ers team, but the sad reality is we haven’t seen that for some time. The Niners are missing key personnel that would thrive in this sort of environment and that certainly gives the edge to the Philadelphia Eagles, who are looking to return to the biggest stage of them all.
Homefield is key in the postseason, and no one makes it pay quite like Nick Sirianni’s Eagles. With Sirianni as head coach and Jalen Hurts under centre, Philadelphia have played five playoff games at Lincoln Financial Field. They’ve won all five, they haven’t recorded a single turnover and they’ve trailed for less than six minutes.
That’s six minutes across the five games combined.
Need I say more? Give me the Eagles.
Los Angeles Chargers @ New England Patriots
It’s hard to see beyond the Patriots in this one.
They’ve won 13 of their last 14 games, Drake Maye has played to a level that’s placed him in legitimate MVP conversations and – as I’ve eluded to a few times in this column already – they possess a LARGE home-field advantage in this one, welcoming the Chargers from the warm west coast to less-than-warm conditions in Massachusetts.
Justin Herbert has all the talent in the world, but we are yet to see him on a deep postseason run and he’s been bothered by a fractured hand for much of the last two months. He was rested last week, but it would require a significant uplift from his Chargers offence to really trouble and keep pace with the Patriots.
How far New England can go remains to be seen, but I fully expect Mike Vrabel’s Patriots to take part in next week’s divisional round.
Houston Texans @ Pittsburgh Steelers
Defence wins championships and, on the way, defence wins a fair few playoff games too. The Texans’ #1-ranked defensive unit has been formidable this season and Houston are on a tremendous run generally, winning each of their last nine games.
The Steelers have ability and a quarterback with a Super Bowl ring, but this feels like a step too far for Mike Tomlin’s side. Their 10-7 record is commendable, but patchy with poor losses to the likes of the Cleveland Browns, just a fortnight ago.
Pittsburgh have a shot, but the better talent is on Houston’s end and I especially in the postseason - I’ll take the team with the elite defence all day long.
Posted at 14:40 GMT on 10/01/26
Safer gambling
We are committed in our support of safer gambling. Recommended bets are advised to over-18s and we strongly encourage readers to wager only what they can afford to lose.
If you are concerned about your gambling, please call the National Gambling Helpline / GamCare on 0808 8020 133.
Further support and information can be found at begambleaware.org and gamblingtherapy.org.
