2023-24 NFL Playoffs Betting Recap
Many traditionalists claim that increasing the playoff field only dilutes the postseason party. After watching the 2023 NFL season I think most folks would have a different opinion. In order to take advantage of the game’s popularity, the league expanded the format from a 12-team to 14-team postseason by adding a third wild card team in each conference for the 2020 NFL season. The increased exposure and possibilities of qualifying for the playoffs have been beneficial for both the league and teams. And there hasn’t been an issue with lower-seeded clubs winning a Super Bowl since only one No. 7 seed has a playoff win in the four years since the field expanded.
The Green Bay Packers, the seven-seed in the NFC after going 9-8 during the 2023 season, stunned No. 2 Dallas 48-32 in the Wild Card round becoming the first No. 7 to win a playoff game. The Packers also made a run at the eventual NFC champion San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round. Meeting for the 10th time in the postseason, the Pack, a 10.5-point underdog, led the top-seeded Niners 21-14 into the fourth quarter.
San Francisco’s run to Super Bowl LVIII started with a comeback win with Christian McCaffrey scoring the game-winning touchdown with 67 seconds left in the fourth quarter for a 24-21 victory.
Following years of frustration the Detroit Lions reached the playoffs winning two games in the same postseason since 1957 when they won the NFL Championship. The Lions won their first division title in three decades and matched a franchise record with 12 regular season wins. They edged the LA Rams in the Wild Card round and beat Tampa Bay 31-23 in the Divisional Round to reach the NFC Championship for the second time.
For one half of their NFC title game with the Niners it looked like Detroit would scratch its name from the list of teams never to have appeared in a Super Bowl. The Lions took a 24-7 lead into halftime before crumbling in the second half. SF used a 27-0 spurt after intermission to put the game away sealing the Niners’ eighth trip to the Super Bowl and making up for losses in the conference title game in each of the previous two years.
The Philadelphia Eagles were the best team in the NFL for half the regular season winning 10 of their first 11 games. It appeared as though the defending NFC champs were on their way to another Super Bowl run. Then suddenly the wheels came off. The Eagles lost five of their last six games and were blasted by NFC South champ Tampa Bay 32-9 in the Wild Card Round. A lot of people are wondering if the club will ever recover.
Having to go on the road for a playoff game for the first time since Patrick Mahomes became the starter, not many were giving the Kansas City Chiefs a chance of repeating as Super Bowl champs. But KC did it the hard way behind one of the best defenses in the NFL, which is something we didn’t hear that often when the Chiefs were making three Super Bowl trips with two wins in the previous four seasons.
After beating Miami in the Wild Card Round, the Chiefs travelled to No. 2 seed Buffalo for their third playoff matchup in the last four years. The Bills were poised to avenge losses that ended previous seasons but couldn’t do it. with the help of a late missed field goal, KC advanced to its sixth straight AFC Championship game with a 27-24 win. Surely the Chiefs would have their dynasty crumble against No. 1 seed Baltimore. A road underdog for the second straight game, KC’s defense stifled MVP Lamar Jackson in a 17-10 win sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl for the fourth time in five seasons.
Behind Jackson the Ravens owned the NFL’s best regular season record at 13-4, but they failed to accomplish their ultimate goal of reaching the Super Bowl. Jackson won his second MVP award but is just 2-4 in six career postseason starts.
The surprise team in the AFC and the entire NFL was the Houston Texans, who won the AFC South at 10-7 with nearly as many wins as they had in the previous three seasons combined (11). Houston won its fifth-ever playoff game beating Cleveland 45-14 in the Wild Card Round before falling to Baltimore.
Three of the four teams that have never appeared in a Super Bowl qualified for the postseason and all three will have to wait another year. The Lions and Browns both have NFC Championships from before the Super Bowl era but have languished in mediocrity since the merger. The Texans appear to be a team on the rise with C.J. Stroud having a fantastic rookie season and DeMeco Ryans changing the culture.
The New York Jets extended the NFL longest current playoff drought to 13 years by failing once again to qualify for the postseason. After winning Super Bowl 50 the Denver Broncos have yet to return to the postseason and boast the second-longest active playoff drought at eight years.
NFL Teams
Access live betting lines and NFL Betting Lines from your mobile device at BookMaker Sportsbook! You can wager on sporting events as they unfold on television with BookMaker’s live betting platform.
