NFL Playoff Odds 2017: AFC, NFC Vegas Lines for Wild Card and Super Bowl

The NFL playoffs start Saturday when the Oakland Raiders face the Houston Texans at 4:35 p.m. ET on ESPN and ABC, kicking off a four-game slate in the Wild Card Round.

Let's take a look at the latest sportsbook lines for the Wild Card Weekend matchups and Super Bowl winner, per OddsShark, and provide some takes on both sets of odds in case you happen to be in Las Vegas making a wager or two (or more).

Wild Card Round Odds and Predictions

Wild Card Round Odds and Predictions

Matchup	Predictions
No. 5 Oakland Raiders at No. 4 Houston Texans (-3.5)	OAK (+3.5)
No. 6 Detroit Lions at No. 3 Seattle Seahawks (-8)	SEA (-8)
No. 6 Miami Dolphins at No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (-10)	PIT (-10)
No. 5 New York Giants at No. 4 Green Bay Packers (-4.5)	NYG (+4.5)

    

Super Bowl Odds

Team	Super Bowl Odds
New England Patriots	19-10
Dallas Cowboys	4-1
Green Bay Packers	7-1
Pittsburgh Steelers	8-1
Kansas City Chiefs	9-1
Atlanta Falcons	19-2
Seattle Seahawks	14-1
New York Giants	14-1
Oakland Raiders	66-1
Houston Texans	66-1
Miami Dolphins	66-1
Detroit Lions	66-1

    

Wild Card Odds Notes

Two Big Home Favorites

The Steelers and Seahawks are favored by 10 and eight points, respectively, in their matchups.

On paper, betting in favor of the home teams seems like a trap given the road teams (Miami and Detroit) are getting so many points off the bat.

However, digging into the matchups, it's hard not to take either home side.

The Steelers have won their last seven games and are in good shape health-wise going into the playoffs. As Jeremy Fowler of ESPN.com reported Wednesday, the "Steelers about as healthy as possible for playoffs: tight end Ladarius Green (concussion), wide receiver Sammie Coates (hamstring), defensive end Stephon Tuitt (knee), tight end Xavier Grimble (ribs) and defensive back Justin Gilbert (shoulder) all full participants in practice."

Furthermore, a scorching-hot Le'Veon Bell, who won the AFC Offensive Player of the Month award Thursday (per Fowler), will face a run defense that allowed the third-most rushing yards per game in the NFL this past year. Only the 2-14 49ers and 1-15 Browns were worse.

Expect Pittsburgh to feature Bell early and often in this one, and for Ben Roethlisberger, who is historically much better at home, to find Antonio Brown if the Fins sell out to stop Bell.

As for Seattle, the Seahawks have won all five home postseason games they've played in the Pete Carroll era, dating back to 2010. They may be reeling right now (3-3 in their last six games), but the Lions are even worse off, having lost their last three games.

Now they are tasked with traveling over 2,000 miles to a place where no team has won in the playoffs since January 2005. That's a tall order for any team.

    

Two Close Contests

Oakland comes into its matchup with Houston starting its third-string quarterback, Connor Cook, who was playing in the Cotton Bowl just over a year ago. Now he's making his first-ever NFL start.

Texans defensive end Jadeveon Clowney (a sack in each of his last three games) and safety Quintin Demps (an interception in each of each last four games and the AFC Defensive Player of the Month for December, per Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle) might be salivating at the thought of facing the rookie.

On the other side, the Texans offense has been anemic all season, and the Raiders pass rush, led by all-world Khalil Mack, will cause problems for Brock Osweiler all game.

Neither team should get much going on offense. Expect the Texans to win a game decided by a field goal or less, but in Vegas, take the three and a hook.

In Green Bay, the 4.5-point spread seems like too much. Yes, the Packers are smoking-hot rolling into the playoffs on a six-game winning streak, but the Giants are 9-2 in their last 11 games and have one of the best defenses in football.

This is a matchup where an unstoppable force is going to meet an immovable object. Each side (the Packers offense and Giants defense) is going to get its respective positive plays on the field, but it's difficult to see either side dominating, leading to a close contest.

If picking straight-up, take Green Bay at home, but betting the spread, take the Giants and the four-and-a-half points.

    

Super Bowl Odds Notes

One Clear Favorite

It's difficult to bet on any team not named the New England Patriots to win the Super Bowl, and that's because they look to have the easiest divisional-round matchup of any team.

The Pats are guaranteed to face either Miami, Oakland or Houston in the playoffs, and Vegas thinks nothing of the chances of any of those teams, giving each team meager 66-1 odds to win it all. Every other team not named Detroit has at least 14-1 odds.

Meanwhile, if Pittsburgh holds serve and beats Miami at home, it has a tough matchup with Kansas City. Dallas will play the Giants-Packers winner if Seattle takes care of business at home against Detroit, and Atlanta would get the aforementioned Seahawks.

The path of least resistance to the Super Bowl is the easiest one, no doubt, and the Patriots have that by virtue of their No. 1 seed.

    

One Dark Horse

It feels funny saying this given that this team gave up 406 points in the regular season, but if you're looking for a dark-horse pick (and big money if you hit), take a look at Atlanta at 19-2.

Unlike other teams that have better odds to win the Super Bowl (Green Bay and Pittsburgh), Atlanta does not have the pitfall of playing an extra game in the Wild Card Round and losing off the bat. Furthermore, the Falcons will be at home for the divisional round, most likely against Seattle.

The Hawks are a tough draw for any team, but this year, they can't get a running game going, and they don't have All-Pro safety Earl Thomas, who suffered a season-ending injury in a win over Carolina in November.

There's also the distinct possibility Atlanta is home throughout the entire postseason. Dallas, which has home-field advantage secured, will most likely face the winner of the Giants-Packers game. The former has beaten the Cowboys twice already, and the latter has the hottest player in football in Aaron Rodgers.

If Dallas loses and Atlanta wins its divisional-round matchup, the Falcons suddenly find themselves home with a chance to go to the Super Bowl in the NFC Championship Game.

It's hard to bet too much money on the Falcons given their defensive issues, but again, it's the path of least resistance we are talking about, and on paper, Atlanta might have a shot of things falling into place.