NFL Playoffs 2015: Vegas Odds, Top Fantasy Picks for Saturday Divisional Games

NFL fans who enjoy shootouts won't appreciate the divisional round's first pair of games as much as Sunday's slate.

The weekend concludes with the Dallas Cowboys, Green Bay Packers, Denver Broncos and Indianapolis Colts promising to produce a cavalcade of points. Before getting to the offensive fun, Saturday presents two grounded matchups that meet the old-school mold.

For those watching with fantasy football rooting interests, fewer options are available on Saturday. Daily players will struggle to assemble a potent lineup in a Saturday only contest, but the opening tilts are not bereft of notable choices.

Take a close look at these three options in particular, as they are poised to exit Saturday as the biggest fantasy winners. 

Conference	Time (ET)	Matchup	TV	Odds*
AFC	4:35 p.m.	Baltimore Ravens at New England Patriots	NBC	NE -7
NFC	8:15 p.m.	Carolina Panthers at Seattle Seahawks	FOX	SEA -10.5

Tom Brady, QB, New England Patriots

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Tom Brady's alarming past against the Baltimore Ravens will scare many people away. As chronicled by NFL on ESPN, his three postseason matchups against them have all gone horribly.

Had Baltimore just stuffed Brady in December, it'd make sense to ask if the Ravens have his number. Brady throwing three picks five years ago, however, doesn't impact Saturday's game.

During Monday's appearance on Dennis & Callahan Show, via ESPNBoston.com's Lee Schechter, Brady confirmed that Ed Reed and Ray Lewis will indeed not return for Saturday's contest.

"

Everything is different at this point. We can never change anything that has happened in the past, and neither can they. You can’t bring players out of retirement and they can’t either. It’s the guys we’ve got versus the guys they’ve got, which is an entirely new team that we have versus an entirely new team that they have.

"

All three times, Baltimore entered the playoffs with a top-10 defense, twice placed inside the top five. While it still meets that qualifier at No. 8, it fares a much worse No. 23 versus the pass. Despite fulfilling its plan by pressuring Ben Roethlisberger and picking him off twice, the Pittsburgh Steelers passer compiled 334 yards in a losing effort.

Brady also only had Rob Gronkowski's services in one of the bouts. He helps. Since a shaky September, the legendary quarterback has averaged 276.5 passing yards per game with 29 touchdowns and seven interceptions. Look for him to buck the Baltimore trend against a vulnerable secondary.

Torrey Smith, WR, Baltimore Ravens

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Darrelle Revis' giant shadow looms over Baltimore's top receivers, as either Steve Smith or Torrey Smith could get smothered by the premier cornerback. For what it's worth, Torrey told the Baltimore Sun's Aaron Wilson that he expects to line up against Brandon Browner.

"You have to prepare for both, but I’m watching probably Browner a little more,” Torrey Smith said. "I just think they’re going to try to have a bigger body on me, try to be a little physical at the line. I’ll check him out a little bit more, but I’ve played against both of them."

If so, that's good news for the younger Smith and bad news for the elder, whose problems against Revis were exhibited by NESN's Doug Kyed.

After Steve stole the spotlight early in the year, the tides changed. Including last week's playoff win over the Steelers, the 25-year-old has scored 12 touchdowns in the last 14 games. The 35-year-old has reached the end zone just three times through that span.

While gambling on the big-play threat is dangerous, Joe Flacco will have to target him for more than deep bombs if Revis is focusing his attention elsewhere. 

Seattle Seahawks, D/ST

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Savvy fantasy gamers play the defensive matchups during the season, but that gets a lot tougher when all the pushovers are sitting at home.

Trusting any defense playing Sunday will yield disastrous results, so ride with one of Saturday's participants. When in doubt, steer clear of the guys facing Brady and Bill Belichick. New England and the Carolina Panthers are two serviceable plays, but neither boasts terrific upside.

The postseason coerces fantasy players to go against the norm and pony up for the best. That's clearly the Seattle Seahawks, the league's No. 1 option given the easiest divisional-round matchup.

Buying into Carolina as a legitimate threat? Well, don't. During their five-game winning streak, the Panthers have pounced on bottom-10 defenses, especially picking on the league's worst two units from the dreadful NFC South.

WEEK	OPP	SCORE	OPP's DEF RANK
14	@ NO	41-10 W	31
15	TB	19-17 W	25
16	CLE	17-13 W	23
17	@ ATL	34-3 W	32
WC Round	ARI	27-16 W	24
DIV Round	@ SEA	?	1

Meanwhile, the Seahawks closed the season by allowing 39 points through six games, a minuscule 6.5 points per contest. As noted by NFL on ESPN, that again gave them the league's stingiest defense.

Against stale competition, Carolina copied Seattle's formula to success, but the Seahawks will toss that into disarray by stymieing the run game and forcing Cam Newton to throw into the NFL's finest secondary. They're the week's best choice by such a significant margin that daily players have to consider spending top dollar.