Sports Betting This Weekend: Rams-Lions, Browns-Texans, Pelicans-Nuggets

The NFL Playoffs kick off this weekend, which means BetMGM’s Super Bowl odds are the hottest betting market in town.

You can visit the online sportsbook today to place a bet. 

NBA

Pelicans at Nuggets

Friday, Jan. 12  |  10 p.m. ET  |  ESPN

The Pelicans have missed the playoffs in four of the last five seasons, and the year they made it, they were the No. 8 seed with a record that was 10 games under .500. So despite an exciting roster, the Pelicans have not been a beacon of good basketball in the Zion Williamson era.

That may finally be changing this year, as the Pelicans (23-15) are holding their ground in a Western Conference that runs 12 teams deep with competitive clubs. Wing Brandon Ingram paces the team with 22 points per game.

These days, few road tests are greater than a trip to Denver, which is exactly where New Orleans is heading on Friday night. The reigning champs are 15-4 at home and +425 in the NBA championship odds table.

Nikola JokićJokic is the current BetMGM NBA odds favorite to win his third NBA MVP in four years. Since Dec. 1, he’s averaging 22 points, 11 rebounds, and nine assists on 58% shooting.

NFL 

Wild-Card Weekend: Browns at Texans

Saturday, Jan. 13  |  4:30 p.m. ET  |  NBC

This year’s wild-card round doesn’t lack for narrative heft. In the first game of the long weekend, Deshaun Watson’s former franchise will play the team that traded five picks (three first-rounders) to get him. 

Ironically, Watson won’t feature in the game at all, as he broke a bone in his throwing shoulder in November and is done for the season. But Cleveland has still managed to find an effective replacement in 38-year-old Joe Flacco, who has posted an acceptable 90.2 passer rating since taking over for the Browns in December. 

There’s another major theme in Saturday’s game: Youth vs. Experience. While the Browns have a Super Bowl MVP playing quarterback and veteran play along their offensive and defensive lines, the Texans are relying on a young core of playmakers led by No. 2 draft pick C.J. Stroud and No. 3 pick Will Anderson.

Despite his youthful status, Stroud has ranked sixth in passer rating and 15th in total QBR this season. He has a good chance to win this year’s Rookie of the Year award. 

NFL

Wild-Card Weekend: Rams at Lions

Sunday, Jan. 14  |  8 p.m. ET  |  NBC

Remember those storylines I just mentioned? Well, here’s another big one: Matt Stafford is returning to Detroit. 

Stafford spent 12 hard years as the quarterback in Detroit, and many of those seasons were lean. Plagued by mismanagement and bad rosters, the Lions were 79-112 while Stafford was on the roster. 

At Stafford’s behest, Detroit opted to flip Stafford to Los Angeles in 2021 for Jared Goff and some draft picks. Stafford and the Rams won the Super Bowl that season.

While the Lions and Rams did play a regular-season game in 2021, the game was at SoFi Stadium in LA. That means this weekend’s game will mark Stafford’s first return to Ford Field since his last tenure there.

While Lions fans may be happy to see Stafford, they’re focused on an even bigger occasion: the first home playoff game for Detroit since 1993. It’s been 30 years since the Lions have scored a division title – so long, in fact, that their last title was in the now-extinct NFC Central. 

Lions fans have to go back to 1991 for their last playoff win, which came 38-6 over the Dallas Cowboys. 

For now, it’s the longest drought for playoff wins in the NFL. But BetMGM’s NFL odds have Lions fans feeling good – Detroit is a 3-point favorite against its former quarterback this weekend.