Panthers, Cowboys Underdogs for NFC Divisional Playoffs

Carolina and Dallas survived Wild Card Weekend, so the field for the Divisional Round of the NFC playoffs is set. One game involves a rematch of a tough defensive battle of just 10 weeks ago, while the other is a rematch of one of the classic playoff battles in NFL history. 

Saturday the defending Super Bowl champion Seattle Seahawks take on the NFC South champion Carolina Panthers for the second time this season, this time up at the Clink. Then Sunday the NFC East champion Dallas Cowboys visit the Green Bay Packers, the first playoff matchup between the teams at Lambeau Field since the Ice Bowl of 1967.

On the early NFC Divisional Round betting odds 5Dimes was chalking the Seahawks at -12.5 over the Panthers, and the Packers at -7 over the Cowboys.

Seattle finished the regular season on a six-game winning streak, and is looking a lot more like last year's championship team than it did earlier this season. That's also evident in that while the Seahawks started 4-6 against the spread this season, they finished 5-0-1 ATS.

Carolina, meanwhile, just beat Arizona in a Wild Card game last week 27-16 for its fifth victory in a row. The Panthers outgained the Cardinals 386-78 and covered the spread as six-point favorites.

These two teams just met back in late October down in Charlotte, a 13-9 Seattle victory. Carolina led that field-goal battle by a 3-2 margin until Russell Wilson connected with tight end Luke Wilson for a 23-yard touchdown with less than a minute to go. However, the Panthers covered as six-point dogs.

Dallas just rallied from a 20-7 deficit to defeat Detroit Sunday in the other NFC Wild Card game 24-20, its first postseason victory in five years. The Cowboys now own a five-game winning streak, going 4-1 ATS over that span.

Green Bay, meanwhile, has won seven of its last eight games, and as the two-seed in the NFC had last week off. Quarterback Aaron Rodgers, who will probably win the league MVP award for this season, is dealing with a sore calf, but the extra time off should help.

These two teams met most recently late last season, a 37-36 Packers victory in Arlington. Dallas led that game 26-3 at the half, and 29-10 late into the third quarter, but Green Bay, with backup Matt Flynn playing in place of the injured Rodgers, and with help from a terrible Tony Romo interception, rallied for the victory.