NFL Playoff Odds 2018: Vegas Picks and Predictions Ahead of Divisional Round

At first glance, the four divisional-round matchups on Saturday and Sunday are intriguing in their own right.

The Philadelphia Eagles and New England Patriots will attempt to extend home-field advantage into the conference championship round on Saturday, while the Pittsburgh Steelers and Minnesota Vikings will take on opponents for the second time this season on Sunday.

All but one of the home teams come into the weekend as the favorite, with the Eagles being the lone home underdog.

Each matchup will be dissected throughout the week, but here's an early look at what we might see in the divisional round.

Atlanta at Philadelphia (Saturday, 4:35 p.m. ET, NBC)

Odds: Atlanta (-2.5); Over/Under: 41

The Atlanta Falcons have their postseason experience to thank for being the only road favorite of the divisional round.

The Matt Ryan-led Falcons represented the NFC in the Super Bowl a year ago, and they have a golden opportunity in front of them on Saturday against the struggling Philadelphia Eagles.

Harry How/Getty Images

Despite locking up home-field advantage, the Eagles have looked abysmal since quarterback Carson Wentz suffered his season-ending ACL injury against the Los Angeles Rams on December 10.

Although they are going up against the NFC champion, the Eagles are facing the best-possible opponent in the divisional round.

The ninth-best Falcons defense gave up 100-yard rushing and receiving totals to Todd Gurley and Robert Woods on Saturday night, and they could face some difficulty against the fresh legs of Eagles running back Jay Ajayi, who sat out the Week 17 clash with the Dallas Cowboys.

If the Eagles want any chance of returning to Lincoln Financial Field for the NFC Championship, the fourth-best defense in the NFL will have to make Ryan uncomfortable in the pocket and create a short field for quarterback Nick Foles, who has not looked like an NFL starter since replacing Wentz.

Prediction: Falcons 23, Eagles 17

Tennessee at New England (Saturday, 8:15 p.m. ET, CBS)

Odds: New England (-13.5); Over/Under: 47 

The main debate surrounding Saturday night's clash at Gillette Stadium is if the New England Patriots can cover the spread.

New England is seen as an overwhelming favorite against the fifth-seeded Tennessee Titans, who pulled out a late win in the wild-card round over the fourth-seeded Kansas City Chiefs.

If there is a weakness the Titans can exploit, it's a Patriots defense that has been gashed on a few occasions this season. But in order to exploit the gaps in a passing defense that has given up 251.3 yards per game—third-worst in the league—you need to have reliable receivers.

Wide receivers Rishard Matthews and Eric Decker don't exactly strike fear in the scouting report, and if the Patriots home in on tight end Delanie Walker and limit his production, it's hard seeing the Titans riding Matthews and Decker to the AFC Championship.

A heavy dose of running back Derrick Henry, who picked up 156 rushing yards in the win over the Chiefs, presents the Titans with their best chance to keep up with the Patriots.

Jason Hanna/Getty Images

Of course, mounting an offensive challenge to the Patriots defense is only half of the winning equation when Patriots quarterback Tom Brady and his 25-9 playoff record are on the other sideline.

Brady averages 267.5 passing yards per game in the playoffs and hasn't exited the postseason after one game since the 2010 NFL season, when the New York Jets knocked out the Patriots in the divisional round.

Prediction: Patriots 34, Titans 10

Jacksonville at Pittsburgh (Sunday, 1 p.m. ET, CBS)

Odds: Pittsburgh (-7.5); Over/Under: 41

The 7.5-point spread in favor of the Pittsburgh Steelers seems a little generous since they suffered a Week 5 loss at home to the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Admittedly, a lot has changed since October 8, and Jacksonville quarterback Blake Bortles isn't going to storm into Heinz Field and blow away the Steelers defense, but the oddsmakers should have given the Jags a little more respect.

In the 30-9 win in Week 5, the Jaguars picked off Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger five times and returned two of those interceptions for touchdowns.

Similar to the wild-card win over the Buffalo Bills, the Jags left Pittsburgh victorious without Bortles reaching 100 passing yards. The Jags don't need Bortles to pick apart the Steelers secondary, they just need him to avoid turnovers.

With JuJu Smith-Schuster developing into a star alongside Antonio Brown at wide receiver, Roethlisberger has a pair of dynamic, reliable targets that could breeze through the Jacksonville secondary, no matter how good they are.

Joe Sargent/Getty Images

Even if the Jaguars limit LeVeon Bell's impact on the ground as they did in the first meeting, they'll have to commit more assets to the passing game since Smith-Schuster has developed throughout the season as a weapon. In the nine games he played in after the loss to the Jaguars, the rookie out of USC recorded 75 receiving yards or more on five occasions.

Sunday's opener will be closer than the spread indicates, but the Steelers have too much for the Jags to handle and will pull out the win in the fourth quarter.

Prediction: Steelers 26, Jaguars 20

New Orleans at Minnesota (Sunday, 4:40 p.m. ET, Fox)

Odds: Minnesota (-3.5); Over/Under: 45.5

The best game of the weekend should come at U.S. Bank Stadium, the site of Super Bowl 52.

The New Orleans Saints are hoping for a return trip to Minneapolis in a few weeks, but first they have to conquer the NFC North champion Minnesota Vikings.

After weeks spent drooling over the New Orleans running backs, quarterback Drew Brees was the star of the wild-card win over the Carolina Panthers, as he threw for 376 yards.

Jonathan Bachman/Getty Images

It's hard to use the Week 1 meeting between the Saints and Vikings as a barometer for what to expect on Sunday, but it is worth noting Brees threw for 291 yards while the team's running game totaled 60 yards on 21 attempts.

Minnesota's defense will embrace the challenge of facing Brees once again as it brings the league's top total defense into Sunday afternoon. The Vikings are one of three teams that gave up less than 200 passing yards per game and one of seven that held opponents to under 100 yards per game on the ground.

We can go on about the Vikings defense all we want, but the real X-factor will be quarterback Case Keenum, who was a backup to Sam Bradford in Week 1.

During the final two months of the season, Keenum threw for 280 yards each against the Rams and Panthers and put up 227 yards against the Falcons. However, going up against the Saints secondary could produce different results. 

The most intriguing battle on the field will pit Vikings wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Adam Thielen against Saints defensive backs Marshon Lattimore and Ken Crawley. Whichever unit earns the upper hand in that matchup has a good chance of leading its team to victory.

Prediction: Saints 31, Vikings 27

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

All statistics obtained from ESPN.com and Pro Football Reference.

Odds obtained from OddsShark.com.