The Herd with Colin Cowherd

The Herd with Colin Cowherd

The Herd with Colin Cowherd is a thought-provoking, opinionated, and topic-driven journey through the top sports stories of the day. Colin's unique...Full Bio

 

Blazing Five: Colin Cowherd Gives His 5 Best NFL Bets For Wildcard Weekend

Blazin' 5: Colin Cowherd Gives His Five Best NFL Bets For Wildcard Weekend.

(VIDEO SEGMENT ABOVE)

Last Week's Blazin' 5 record: 3-2

2021 Blazin' 5 record: 39-47-1 (Colin made bonus picks in Week 4 & 5)

Raiders (10-7) at Bengals (10-7) (SPREAD: CIN -5.5)

“I’m going to take the Bengals -5.5. It’s a matchup of the team with the most penalty yards in the league, the Raiders, vs. the team with the fewest penalty yards in the league, the Bengals. I worry that the Raiders defense was on the field for NINETY SNAPS last week, and then they lose a day with travel. Joe Burrow this year, you can look at the numbers, he’s been absolutely unbelievable – completion percentage number one in the league, and passer rating number two in the league. The Raiders are the first team in NFL history to end a season with four straight wins of four points or fewer. I kind of feel like the gig is up. The Raiders have only scored 17 offensive touchdowns the last 10 weeks, the fewest of all playoff teams. I think a worn down Raiders defense gets exposed in the second half, Bengals win and cover 32-26.”

Colin's prediction: Bengals 32, Raiders 26.

Colin's pick: Cincinnati -5.5

Patriots (10-7) at Bills (11-6) (SPREAD: BUF -4)

“I’m going to take the points here with New England, Belichick gets Josh Allen for a third time. New England has 24 rushing touchdowns, second most in the league, it’s zero degrees, I don’t think there’s going to be a ton of points, and I like +4 points with New England. The Bills are 0-5 in games decided by one possession. I told you, the Bills are Mike Tyson – they’ll knock you out early or lose close. Josh Allen against the Patriots has not been very good. He has only a 57.1% completion percentage, and he’s only completed 63% on the year, the second lowest among all playoff quarterbacks, and that includes GOOD weather games. I think it’s ugly, I think it’s going to be low scoring, so I’m going to take the 4 points. I’ll take the Bills to win on a late field goal, but this is my strongest play of the weekend, I like New England plus the points, 28-27, Bills win.”

Colin's prediction: Bills 28, Patriots 27.

Colin's pick: New England +4

Eagles (9-8) at Buccaneers (13-4) (SPREAD: TB -8.5)

“This is my second strongest play of the weekend, I like the Eagles +8.5. The Eagles don’t make mistakes and Brady does. This is fascinating, if you look at the Eagles offense they average almost 3.5 yards per carry BEFORE CONTACT, that leads the league. That means that there’s holes open and they open things up. They have 16 giveaways this year, the third fewest among playoff teams. Whereas Brady has 15 GIVEAWAYS this year, that’s the most for him in 12 years. Tampa Bay is still banged up, does not have a consistent run game, the weather could still be windy, so that could hurt the more vertical passing team. I think Tampa wins here but +8.5 against a team who consistently gets over 10 yards a carry? I think it’s close, Tampa Bay 27, Philadelphia 24.”
Colin's prediction: Bucs 27, Eagles 24.

Colin's pick: Philadelphia +8.5

49ers (10-7) at Cowboys (12-5) (SPREAD: DAL -3)

“I went back and forth but I’ve got to go with my initial instinct, I’m taking San Francisco and the points, and the upset win. The road team has won 10 of 14 Wildcard games over the last three years. The San Francisco offense leads the NFL in yards per play, a huge stat, with 6.1. The 49ers offense is the hottest it’s been all year. Three of the last four games they’ve had 150+ yards rushing. And for all you Jimmy Garoppolo haters, it’s insane, here are the numbers post-Thanksgiving for Jimmy Garoppolo. Since Week 9 he’s second in the league in completion percentage, first in passing yards per attempt, and first in ‘Big Plays’ passing. Since Thanksgiving he’s a top 5 clutch quarterback in the league. The Cowboys are 1-5 when they’re held under 100 rushing yards, and it’s hard to get to 100 yards against the Niners defense. I like the Niners to win, 28-27, take the points.”

Colin's prediction: 49ers 28, Cowboys 27.

Colin's pick: San Francisco +3

Cardinals (11-6) at Rams (12-5) (SPREAD: LAR -4)

“This is my weakest bet of the weekend, I’ll take the Rams -4. A couple of things worry me. Arizona’s defense has not been good, six yards a play surrendered in their last five games. For the Rams, 10 of their 12 wins were by 7 points or more. Like Buffalo, if they get it going and get a lead they rarely lose. Kyler Murray is 1-4 over his last 5 games and he has struggled against this Rams personnel regardless of who was the coordinator. Not only does he only have 1 win in his last 6 vs. the Rams, but he has nine giveaways and a passer rating barely above 80. In this division the Niners give the Rams fits, and the Rams tend to control Kliff Kingsbury and Kyler Murray. This is my weakest play of the week, but I like the Rams to win and cover, 31-26.”

Colin's prediction: Rams 31, Chargers 26.

Colin's pick: Los Angeles -4

All spreads are provided by Fox Bet.


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