Super Bowl 2015: Fresh Odds and Predictions Ahead of Divisional Round

The Wild Card Round of the NFL Playoffs is in the books, but even Las Vegas seems to lack confidence concerning the eventual 2015 Super Bowl winner. 

Be honest, though. Nobody truly thought the Arizona Cardinals or Cincinnati Bengals would run the table to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The Pittsburgh Steelers? Maybe. Detroit Lions? Good luck beating Green Bay or Seattle.

With some of the pretenders out of the way, the Super Bowl picture is a tad clearer. Now, the divisional round is on approach, which means Las Vegas has new numbers, and it is time to take a dive into some of the best upcoming matchups.

Updated Super Bowl Odds After Wild Card Weekend

Team	Odds
Baltimore Ravens	41/2
Carolina Panthers	69/2
Dallas Cowboys	57/4
Denver Broncos	543/100
Green Bay Packers	75/1
Indianapolis Colts	91/2
New England Patriots	82/25
Seattle Seahawks	53/25

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 4.

2015 NFL Divisional Round Schedule and Predictions

AFC Matchup	Date/Time (ET)	TV	Spread	Pick ATS	Reason
NFC Matchup
Baltimore at New England	Sat, Jan. 10 at 4:35 p.m.	NBC	NE -7	NE	Tom Brady and Bill Belichick have had plenty of time to prepare, not to mention tout a top-10 run defense.
Indianapolis at Denver	Sun, Jan. 11 at 4:40 p.m.	CBS	DEN -7	DEN	See analysis below.
Carolina at Seattle	Sat, Jan. 10 at 8:15 p.m.	FOX	SEA -11	CAR	These two played to a 13-9 result in favor of Seattle this season. Expect a similar result as the Panthers have no answer for Marshawn Lynch.
Dallas at Green Bay	Sun, Jan. 11 at 1:05 p.m.	FOX	GB -6.5	GB	See analysis below.

Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 9 p.m. ET on Jan. 4.

Early Breakdown of Top Matchups

Indianapolis Colts at Denver Broncos

Joe Mahoney/Associated Press

Of course, the playoffs find a way to pit Andrew Luck against Peyton Manning.

The latter also makes history in the process, as explained by ESPN Stats & Info:

Indianapolis looks great after a 26-10 triumph over Cincinnati this past weekend although that end result says more about the Bengals than the Colts at this point.

Luck, who threw for 376 yards and a score Sunday, is complemented by a top-12 pass defense. What may prove more telling, though, is the way his team performed back in Week 1 against these same Broncos.

There, Manning threw for 269 yards and three scores in the comforts of home while Luck struggled his way to 370 yards with a pair of scores and interceptions.

The problem for the Colts is this is largely the same scenario and team that rushed for just 54 yards after falling in a 24-0 hole. This is the same Indianapolis defense with slow linebackers who allowed Denver tight end Julius Thomas to grab seven passes for 104 yards and a trio of scores.

Heck, this is a new Denver rushing attack led by C.J. Anderson—not Montee Ball—who has a minimum of 83 rushing yards in five of his last six games with eight rushing touchdowns in that period.

To be fair to the Colts, Manning has seemed to struggle as of late. The transition to Anderson is by design, as Manning has thrown for more than 300 yards once in his past six outings and more than two touchdowns once in a contest over that period.

All things equal, though, it is difficult to go against Manning given the venue and magnitude of the stage. His defense will once again force Luck into a one-dimensional attack that creates mistakes while Anderson will find few issues on the ground against an 18th-ranked rush defense.

Prediction: Broncos 28, Colts 20

Dallas Cowboys at Green Bay Packers

Chris Graythen/Getty Images

The whole "something has to give" shtick applies Sunday when the Green Bay Packers host the Dallas Cowboys.

John Buccigross paints the picture:

Jon Machota of The Dallas Morning News adds even more:

These sort of things can be deceptive, though.

Look at Dallas in the Wild Card Round at home. Tony Romo, who threw for 293 yards and a pair of scores while being sacked six times, needed to save his team from an early 14-point deficit in order to pull out the 24-20 victory, which he discussed following the game, per ESPN.com.

"

You just have to stay in the moment and understand the game. It doesn't end after the first quarter, second quarter. You just have to keep calm. I've played enough games to understand that. Maybe I didn't do that as well when I was younger.

"

A slow start will doom most any team at Lambeau Field.

Oddly enough, those same Lions visited there in Week 17 and fell behind 14-0 on the way to a 30-20 loss. Aaron Rodgers dissected a top-13 pass defense for 226 yards and two scores while Eddie Lacy rumbled for 100 yards against the league's top-ranked rush defense.

In what boils down to a quarterback duel in the cold weather, the struggles the Cowboys continue to experience against the pass will reign supreme. Ditto for a struggling offensive line that just allowed six sacks and next has to deal with a noisy stadium and a Green Bay rush that generated 41 sacks on the season.

Clay Matthews, Julius Peppers and others will run roughshod on the Cowboys as Rodgers pulls away early and never looks back.

Prediction: Packers 36, Cowboys 27

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