NFL Playoffs 2017: TV Schedule, Early Odds and Predictions for Divisional Round

The NFL's divisional round promises a significant upgrade compared to the postseason's opening weekend.

The slate looked good on paper, but outcomes of 27-14, 30-12, 26-6 and 38-13 certainly didn't back up the hype. 

Now the big boys enter the fray.

Tom Brady and the New England Patriots are here. So are the Dallas Cowboys and their dynamic rookies. Don't forget borderline underrated contenders such as the Atlanta Falcons and Kansas City Chiefs.

To summarize? Bettors have a much easier time this week with the four games on tap, and fans won't want to miss any of them. Here's a look at the schedule and the first offerings out of Las Vegas.

NFL Playoffs: Divisional Round

Seattle at Atlanta (-4.5)

Game	Date	Time (ET)		Point Spread	Prediction
Seattle at Atlanta	Jan. 14	4:35 p.m.	Fox	Atlanta (-4.5)	ATL 30-24
Houston at New England	Jan. 14	8:15 p.m.	CBS	New England (-16)	NE 35-17
Pittsburgh at Kansas City	Jan. 15	1:05 p.m.	NBC	Kansas City (-1.5)	KC 24-20
Green Bay at Dallas	Jan. 15	4:40 p.m.	Fox	Dallas (-4)	GB 23-20

The original goal here was to set out and find the easiest early-week picks for bettors.

That isn't happening. However, this one at least looks favorable, given the small nature of the line and a few important factors.

Make no mistake—the Seattle Seahawks looked great while taking down the Detroit Lions 26-6. Russell Wilson cruised with a pair of touchdowns passes, and Thomas Rawls looked fully healthy, rushing 27 times for 161 yards and one score.

But dealing with the Atlanta Falcons on the road is a whole different animal. The Falcons aren't a pass-happy team that only made the postseason because of a jaw-dropping amount of fourth-quarter comebacks.

No, these Falcons have an MVP candidate under center in Matt Ryan, who threw for 4,944 yards and 38 touchdowns against seven interceptions. They have two running backs who each has a minimum of 520 yards, 4.4 yards per carry and eight rushing scores. They have a defense that picked off 12 passes and forced 34 sacks.

Oh, and they closed the season on a four-game tear and enter off a week of rest.

Seattle beating Atlanta isn't impossible by any means, but the Seahawks tend to get an over-exaggerated reputation this time of year, while the Falcons seem like the most underrated team left standing.

Remember, Atlanta went to Seattle back in Week 6 and lost by only two points. Ryan, even in the face of the league's toughest home-field advantage, threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns.

This is significant because hardly any team goes to Seattle and wins. The Seahawks on the road this year, though, have been miserable, with a 9-3 loss (to the Los Angeles Rams), a tie (with the Arizona Cardinals), a 25-20 loss (to the New Orleans Saints), a 14-5 loss (to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers), a 38-10 loss (to the Green Bay Packers) and a 25-23 victory over the two-win San Francisco 49ers.

So while a bettor's first instinct might be to roll with the Seahawks, keep in mind this game goes down in Atlanta. Ryan has already looked great against Richard Sherman and the Seahawks once, so expect him to pull the Falcons ahead in the second half and advance.

Prediction: Falcons 30-24

Houston at New England (-16)

Even this isn't an easy line because Las Vegas has decided to drop a gigantic spread that is quite unbecoming of a playoff game. 

The Houston Texans, despite limping to the playoffs without J.J. Watt and dealing with a bit of a quarterback controversy, have made it this far.

For context, look at how much has changed between now and Week 3, as Doug Kyed of NESN illustrated:

Let's talk about that Week 3 contest for a moment—a 27-0 affair in Foxborough that favored the Patriots without Tom Brady under center.

Even then, New England rushed for 185 yards and three touchdowns, while Houston's Brock Osweiler threw for 196 yards, no scores and one pick. It didn't look like a preview of a playoff game.

Alas, here are the Texans, who were gifted with a game against the Derek Carr-less Oakland Raiders to start their postseason journey. Osweiler threw for 168 yards and one touchdown in that matchup while his ground game scored twice and the defense picked off rookie Connor Cook three times. As usual, the Texans live and die by defense.

"We've been doing it all season as a defense," Jadeveon Clowney said, according to the Associated Press (via ESPN.com). "We'll just continue to play as a unit."

Win or not, the pressure on the defense is terrible news against Brady, who has the Patriots riding a seven-game tear, with the last two games coming in at 41-3 (against the New York Jets) and 35-14 (against the Miami Dolphins). Unlike the Seahawks, the Patriots deserve their reputation this time of year since four of those seven came away from home, including the last game.

Brady, who has 16 touchdowns against one interception over the winning streak, isn't going to have a problem carving up Houston. As fun as it would be to see the Texans keep a miracle story alive, the team's inability to put a single point on the board while not having to deal with Brady on the road in Week 3 doesn't bode well for its chances next weekend.

Prediction: Patriots 35-17

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. All betting information courtesy of OddsShark. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. 

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