NFL Playoffs 2014-15: Odds and Picks for Most Polarizing Postseason Teams

The term "polarizing" does not do the 2014-15 NFL playoffs justice. 

This postseason includes a seven-win team. A team with a third-string quarterback. A team with its best defensive player suspended. Another without its best running back. It even includes the Dallas Cowboys.

Make no mistake, though—polarizing equates to viewers and entertainment. Just ask the WWE.

What the NFL has approaching is sure to be a good time. It also promises a few teams that divide counties, states and families themselves will slip through the cracks and make a push for the Lombardi Trophy.

The possibilities seem endless.

2014-15 NFL Playoffs Bracket

Wild Card Weekend Odds and Predictions

Matchup	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
No. 5 Arizona Cardinals vs. No. 4 Carolina Panthers (Saturday, Jan. 3)	CAR -4	CAR	Carolina is hot at the right time and will stand tall against a second or third-string quarterback.
No. 6 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (Saturday, Jan. 3)	PIT -3	BAL	Pittsburgh may be without Le'Veon Bell, something the stellar Baltimore defense will take advantage of on the way to a gritty win.
No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals vs. No. 4 Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Jan. 4)	IND -6	CIN	See analysis below.
No. 6 Detroit Lions vs. No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (Sunday, Jan. 4)	DAL -7	DAL	See analysis below.

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 4 p.m. ET on Dec. 29.

Polarizing Teams to Watch 

No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals at No. 4 Indianapolis Colts

Ask one fan about the Cincinnati Bengals and hear about how the team is ready to win its first playoff game in four consecutive attempts.

After all, the Bengals took care of business against Peyton Manning in a 37-28 win against the Denver Broncos a few weeks back. The team also has a rookie stud in running back Jeremy Hill, who has 1,124 yards and nine scores to his name. It is easier to count games in which Hill has not rushed for at least 100 yards when receiving the lion's share of carries.

But ask another fan. That one says the Bengals are the same old Bengals. Look at Week 17's 27-17 loss to Pittsburgh. Look at quarterback Andy Dalton, who undermines the team with bad decisions, horrific ball placement and anticipation.

The latter fan is in the right this time. Andrew Luck and the Colts, owners of the league's top passing attack and a top-12 pass defense, took it to the Bengals in 27-0 fashion in Week 7 at the same venue.

"However you want to write it is fine with me," said Cincinnati's offensive coordinator, Hue Jackson, per Kevin Goheen of FoxSports.com. "You can you use a whole bunch of different adjectives for that one. It wasn't good. I promise you that. They did a very good job. They took it to us. And we didn't play very well."

Look, the Bengals tease every year and divide most. This is a team with a quarterback who disappears when it matters. The same goes for Green, who might miss Sunday outright with a concussion.

It is also a defense that let former coordinator Mike Zimmer walk last offseason and wound up forcing just 20 sacks this year. That defense also allowed Indianapolis running back Trent Richardson to rush for 77 yards, two shy of his season-high total.

Maybe it is easier to brush aside the Bengals. After all, everyone has been down this path before with Marvin Lewis' team, both in the postseason and this year in Indianapolis. Against a non-existent rush at home, Luck will help his team escape.

Prediction: Colts 27, Bengals 23

No. 6 Detroit Lions at No. 3 Dallas Cowboys

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

Ask fans which team was the most up and down this season and you'll get a number of different answers. 

Some will say Pittsburgh. Others Miami. Maybe a San Francisco here and there.

The top culprit is Detroit.

Most of this has to do with having Matthew Stafford under center. Extreme? Not at all, once one digests a note by Josh Katzenstein of The Detroit News:

Talk about a red flag. Look at Detroit's resume this year—a win over Green Bay sticks out. So do losses at the hands of Carolina, Buffalo, Arizona, New England and Green Bay, otherwise known as the toughest teams on the schedule.

Keep in mind that the Lions are the team hinted at in the intro as being without their best defensive player. Ndamukong Suh will miss the contest against the Dallas Cowboys, per ESPN.com.

Detroit is polarizing, though, because some will still believe. Fair enough. This is an offense with a pair of 1,000-yard receivers in Calvin Johnson and Golden Tate. Reggie Bush is healthy at the right time. Stafford can get hot, as unlikely as it seems when it matters.

Hope aside, the writing is on the wall. The league's top rush defense was gashed for 152 yards and a score last week with Suh on the field. Now imagine what DeMarco Murray, owner of 1,845 rushing yards and 13 scores, will do at home against the unit.

Detroit has no answer for the best back in the league, nor does it have a proven track record to suggest Stafford can march into Dallas and escape with a victory.

Prediction: Cowboys 28, Lions 24

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).