Wild Card Weekend Betting on Saturday and Sunday

NFL Wild Card Weekend offers up four thought-provoking matchups for football bettors to ponder and play.

Here's a quick preview of what's coming this weekend, with NFL Wild Card betting odds courtesy of Bovada and TopBet.

The action begins Saturday afternoon in Charlotte, when the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers – who at one point this season went two months without a victory – host the Wild Card Arizona Cardinals.

Then one of the nastier rivalries of the recent past is played for the third time this season when the AFC North champion Pittsburgh Steelers host the Wild Card Baltimore Ravens.

Sunday the AFC South champion Indianapolis Colts, in the playoffs for the third time in three seasons behind quarterback Andrew Luck, host the Wild Card Cincinnati Bengals.

And Sunday night the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys will host a Wild Card Detroit Lions squad that will have defensive lineman Ndamukong Suh on the field after all.

Carolina, which closed the regular season with four straight victories, is in the playoffs for the second straight year; last January the Panthers gave the 49ers a tough battle out in San Francisco but lost 23-10 in an NFC Divisional Round bout.

Arizona, on the other hand, closed this season by losing four of its last six games. Nonetheless, the Cardinals are in the playoffs for the first time in five years.

As of early this week Carolina could be bet at -6 at Bovada, while Arizona could be found at +7 at Bovada.

Pittsburgh finished the regular season on a 4-0 SU and ATS run, and is making its first playoff appearance since that overtime loss at Denver three years ago. Baltimore is also back in the playoffs, after a one-year absence, and is 5-0 ATS in its last five playoff games.

These two heated rivals split their two divisional meetings this season, each winning and covering at home.

As of early this week Topbet.eu was chalking the Steelers at -3 over the Ravens.

Indianapolis is back in the playoffs for the third straight season; however, the Colts are only 1-4 both SU and ATS in their last five postseason games. Meanwhile, Cincinnati is 0-6 both SU and ATS in its last six postseason games, a drought that stretches back over 20 years. 

As of early this week Bovada was listing the Colts, who beat Cincy 27-0 back in October, at -3.5 over the Bengals.

Finally, Dallas also completed its regular season on a 4-0 SU and ATS run, and is also back in the playoffs for the first time in five years. Detroit, meanwhile, had a four-game winning streak snapped in its regular-season finale at Green Bay, but is still in the playoffs for just the second time in the last 15 years.

As of earlier this week the Cowboys could be wagered on at -7.5 at Bovada, while Topbet was giving the Lions eight points.