The playoffs might mean fewer games each weekend, but there’s no shortage of nuggets from RedZone.Bet…

GAME ODDS

#6 Indianapolis Colts (+1) @ #3 Houston (-1)

• TY Hilton and Eric Ebron were both injury concerns for the Colts going in to Week 17 but both managed to play and contribute significantly. Both should be fine this week, but Indy will be without wide receiver Ryan Grant
• Centre Ryan Kelly missed the game last week but should be back this week. He is essential to the Colts running game, with the team averaging 4.5 yards per carry with him playing, and 3.6 when he’s out
• Keke Coutee continues to practice for the Texans without playing and could return for this game
• The Texans are the best team in the league in rush defense, and top five in preventing receiving yards to running backs
• The Texans are a bottom 10 rushing offense, the Colts are a top five rushing defense.
• They have split the series this season, with the Texans winning by three (in OT) in Week 4, and the Colts winning by three in Week 14
• The road side won on both occasions
• The Colts sacked Deshaun Watson 12 times across the two games
• This season, DeAndre Hopkins had 159 targets (fifth in the league) and zero drops. For context, the next highest targeted receiver with zero drops is Tyler Lockett (55th) with 65 targets
• TY Hilton has played the Texans 14 times and averages 103 yards and 0.64 touchdowns per game against them
• The Texans have won 11 games this season, the opposing quarterbacks in those games were as follows, with their defense adjusted rank in brackets: Luck (9), Prescott (26), Allen/Peterman (33/-), Bortles/Kessler (31/-), Osweiler (-), Keenum (28), Smith (29), Mariota (27), Mayfield (14), Darnold (30) and Bortles (31)

#5 Seattle Seahawks (+2) @ #4 Dallas Cowboys (-2)

• The Seahawks beat the Cowboys 24-13 in Seattle in Week 3
• For the Seahawks, there are injury concerns for guard JR Sweezy, safety Tedric Thompson and cornerback Shaq Griffin, their status closer to kickoff should be monitored
• Dallas chose to not rest many starters in their meaningless game last week and despite some injury scares, seem to only have defensive tackle David Irving as a concern this week
• The Cowboys have a top five rush defense, but are bottom five in allowing receiving yards to running backs
• Both teams are bottom five in pass protection OL play, but the Cowboys are only 27th in pass rush, whereas the Seahawks are average (14th) at getting to the passer
• The Cowboys are more of a passing team when it gets to the redzone, with 61 passes compared with 41 running back carries
• Russell Wilson has a perfect passer rating when targeting Tyler Lockett this season
• Both teams are bottom 10 in both offensive seconds per play, and pass:run ratio. Expect the fewest number of snaps in this game on the week
• In the final four weeks of the season, Chris Carson had more rushing attempts than any other player in the league
• The Seahawks have failed to cover the spread in each of their last three road playoff games

#5 Los Angeles Chargers (+2.5) @ #4 Baltimore Ravens (-2.5)

• The Ravens beat the Chargers 22-10 in LA in Week 16, during which Philip Rivers had his worst game of the season with 181 passing yards and two interceptions
• In the game, the Chargers stifled Lamar Jackson’s rushing ability, allowing him only 39 yards from 13 attempts
• Chargers tight end Hunter Henry tore his ACL in May this year, he looks to be ready just in time for the playoffs. Linebacker Jatavis Brown is the only injury concern
• The Ravens seemingly have zero injury concerns going in to this game
• The Chargers are top six in both passing and rushing offense, the Ravens are top six in both passing and rushing defense
• Since Lamar Jackson became the starter in Week 11, the Ravens have the highest run percentage in the league with 61%
• In the 4th quarter, Jackson has the best QB passer rating of any regular starter in the league
• The Ravens are the best team in the league at limiting opposing receiving yards to running back
• No rookie QB has beaten a non-rookie QB in a playoff game since 2009
• West coast teams are 4-9 on the road in early kickoff playoff games since 2000, but Philip Rivers has won both times he’s been in that situation

#6 Philadelphia Eagles (+6.5) @ #3 Chicago Bears (-6.5)

• Nick Foles left the game for the Eagles last week with bruised ribs after taking a direct helmet hit, but he will play through the pain. They may get cornerback Sidney Jones back from a hamstring injury if he makes enough progress
• The Bears have concerns for their receivers Anthony Miller, Taylor Gabriel and Allen Robinson. All are expected to play but are carrying injuries in to this game
• The Bears are 9-1 straight up and 9-1 ATS in their last 10 games
• The Eagles are a bottom five rushing offense, the Bears are second in rush defense
• The Bears are ranked third against the tight end, and Zach Ertz is the most targeted player on the Eagles team by nearly 40%
• Mitchell Trubisky has 97 first downs and 19 passing touchdowns at home this season, but only 54 first downs and five touchdowns on the road
• The Bears are 4-0 ATS this season when at home as favourites of 5.5 points or more
• Since Trubisky came back from injury in week 14, the unders is 4-0, allowing 42 total points in that stretch
• Excluding a meaningless week 17 game last season when he only played the first quarter, Nick Foles is 8-0 in December and January over the last 2 seasons and is 6-2 ATS
• The Eagles have the best redzone defense in the league, allowing touchdowns on less than 45% of the time. Chicago are 6th in redzone offense, scoring TDs on 67% of visits

Got a question or comment, or want to ask about the stats of a specific match-up, then hit up @UKBenThe12 on Twitter

GRIDIRON BETS OF THE WEEK

Colts (+1.5) over Texans
Seahawks (+2) over Cowboys
ENHANCED BET….11/4

Ravens (-3) over Chargers
Eagles (+5.5) over Bears
ENHANCED BET….3/1

(odds correct at the time of publishing)

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