One of the arguments for increasing the playoff field in the NFL is the advantage the bye week gives the top two teams in each conference.
After all, they posted the best records in their conferences. Shouldn't there be some benefit to that?
Of course, there wasn't much of an advantage to a bye week. NFL teams in the 2019 season went just 11-21 coming off their week off in the regular season. Since 2002, teams coming off the bye week are 47-21, including 4-0 last year. Part of the reason for that is because teams that earn the bye in the NFL postseason also are playing at home coming off the bye.
That bodes well for the Ravens and Chiefs in the AFC and the 49ers and Packers -- the top two seeds in the AFC and NFC -- in this weekend's playoff games.
And the home teams are all overwhelming favorites to win this weekend. The 49ers are 7-point favorites to beat the Vikings in the first game on Saturday (4:40 p.m.), while the Ravens are 10-point favorites over the Titans at 8:20 p.m. Sunday, the Chiefs are favored by 9 1/2 points over the Texans in the early game (3:10 p.m.), while the Packers have a 4 1/2-point advantage over the Seahawks in a game scheduled to begin at 6:45 p.m.
Only one of these games is a rematch. The Texans actually beat the Chiefs, 31-24, earlier this season in Kansas City.
THE ESSENTIALS
• What: NFL Divisional Playoffs
• When: Saturday, Sunday
• Wh0: Vikings at 49ers, 4:40 p.m. today; Titans at Ravens, 8:20 p.m. today; Texans at Chiefs, 3:10 p.m. tomorrow; Seahawks at Packers, 6:45 p.m. tomorrow
• Boxscores: NFL Game Center
• Odds: MyBookie.AG
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