The Baltimore Ravens will be on a short week as they travel to face the Denver Broncos in the AFC Divisional Round of the NFL pro football playoffs on Saturday afternoon. Kick off time from Denver is scheduled for 4:30PM Eastern Time with national television coverage provided by CBS.
The betting odds in this NFL playoff game has the home team Denver Broncos favored by –9 points with an over under line of 45 ½ points. Early money from the bettors has landed on the side of the road underdog as Denver is now favored by -8 ½ points. The over under line has moved up a ½ point to a current line of 46 points.
The teams met on December 16th this regular season and it was the Broncos with the 34-17 road win at the Ravens as a -3 point betting favorite. The game ended over 48 points. It wasn’t close as Denver built up the 17-3 lead at the half and 31-6 after three quarters. Denver’s defense held the Ravens offense to just 56 yards rushing on 19 carries in the win. The Broncos had a balanced attack with 163 rushing yards and 187 from through the air. NFL Trend: Denver Broncos are 4-0 ATS in their past four games.
The Ravens have to play on Saturday after an AFC Wildcard win this past Sunday against the Indianapolis Colts 24-9 and covering the spread as a -7 ½ point favorite. After a close first half Baltimore outscores Indianapolis 14-3 in the second half. The Baltimore offense moved the football very effectively against a shaky Colts defense for 172 yards on the ground and 269 via the pass. Baltimore went 4-4 on the road this season. They have lost their past two road games. Overall they team is a mid-pack offense and defense. Joe Flacco completed 22 touchdowns and 10 interceptions on the season with a 59% completion percentage. The Ravens score 25 point a game and give up 21 on the season.
The Denver Broncos are 7-1 straight up on their home field this season. The only loss came early on the season against the Houston Texans. The Broncos are a hot team winners of eleven straight and last loss came on October 7th on the road to New England. They have a Super Bowl profile as the club is the number four ranked offense in the NFL with 397 yards a game and the number two ranked defense by allowing 290 yards per contest. Denver scores 30 points a game and gives up just 18 points. The Broncos defend the run and pass both very effectively as they ranked third in the NFL in both critical defensive categories. Peyton Manning in his first season with Denver completed 68% of his passes with 37 touchdowns and 11 interceptions.
