The NFL’s divisional-round matchups are set.

The Los Angeles Rams dominated the Arizona Cardinals 34-11 as a three-point favourite to wrap up the super wild-card weekend.

They’ll move on to face Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers next Sunday afternoon. 

It was the third blowout in six wild-card round games, as the favourites went 5-1 straight up and against the spread.

It was a particularly bad night for yours truly, as well as everyone else who took the points with an Arizona team that started the season 7-0 and went out with a whimper, losing five of its final six games including last night’s no-show.

Here’s the TSN EDGE Morning Coffee for Tuesday, Jan. 18, 2022.

 

Murray struggles in playoff loss

As somebody who bet on Kyler Murray to go over on his passing yards and rushing yards props, last night’s game was particularly ugly to watch.

Murray completed just two of his first 10 pass attempts that travelled beyond the line of scrimmage, as the Cardinals averaged an awful 1.5 yards per play in the first half.

Murray, who was the betting favourite to win NFL regular season MVP through the first four weeks of the season, went 19-of-34 for 137 yards with two interceptions, including a pick-six.

Meanwhile, after rushing for 35 yards or more in each of their final three regular-season games and five of their final six games, Murray finished with six rushing yards on two attempts.   

Count them up.

Murray to go under 252.5 passing yards, under 23.5 completions, under 40.5 rushing yards, under 6.5 rush attempts, under 1.5 touchdown passes, and Murray to throw an interception all cashed.

After the way that Arizona melted down in that first half, and in the second half of the season for the second year in a row, I’m very interested to see how the franchise addresses its issues in the off-season.

Meanwhile for the Rams, Odell Beckham Jr. delivered in his first playoff game since 2017.

Beckham opened the scoring with his first-ever playoff touchdown.

Beckham to score the first TD was +950. Beckham anytime TD was +165.

OBJ also went over 3.5 receptions and 47.5 receiving yards, finishing with four catches for 54 yards.

At one point, Beckham had more passing yards than Murray (40-28) after a trick play 40-yard completion.

Matthew Stafford was an efficient 13-of-17 for 202 yards and two touchdowns for the first playoff win of his career.

Per NFL Next Gen Stats, he threw only one pass into a tight window, which is to any receiver with one yard or fewer of separation. 

The Rams have won six of their past seven games heading into next week’s showdown with the Buccaneers – their lone loss was in overtime against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 18.

After the favourites went 5-1 in the super wild-card round, it will be very interesting to see whether that trend continues in the divisional round.

Let’s take a closer look at those divisional round lines as we look to turn the page on Monday night’s debacle.

 

NFL divisional round lines

The Rams opened as a three-point road underdog at the Buccaneers. The total is 48.5.

Tom Brady is 14-2 straight up all-time in the divisional round – his last loss came in 2010.

Brady has won nine straight divisional-round starts, the longest win streak by any quarterback in a single round in NFL playoff history.

However, the Buccaneers will also have to buck a notable trend for defending champions.

Per ESPN Stats & Info, Tampa Bay is the 11th defending Super Bowl champion to play in the wild-card round.

None of the previous 10 made it past the divisional round.

Can Brady and the Buccaneers snap that drought? Or will we see Stafford and the Rams in the NFC Championship Game?

Meanwhile, the Kansas City Chiefs remain a 2.5-point favourite against the Buffalo Bills in the most highly anticipated game of the divisional round.

After betting the over when it opened at 53.5, that number jumped to 54.5.

The Bills beat the Chiefs 38-20 back in Week 5.

The forecast is currently calling for clear conditions, and if that holds up, I think the total for this game could climb even higher.

 Meanwhile, the Tennessee Titans are up from -3 to -3.5 against the Cincinnati Bengals.

The total for that game has also been bumped up from 46.5 to 47.

Derrick Henry is expected to return for the Titans this week, and with some notable injuries in the Cincinnati front seven, it will be interesting to see how Henry performs in his return.

While Henry will be in the spotlight, I think it’s also notable that Ryan Tannehill will have a healthy A.J. Brown and Julio Jones.

Tennessee will run the football with Henry, and that will only open things up for Tannehill to have more room to operate through the air with his top playmakers at receiver.

Finally, the Green Bay Packers are a 5.5-point favourite against the San Francisco 49ers, the lone wild-card round underdog to advance.

The total hasn’t budged off 47.5.

Aaron Rodgers has never beat the 49ers in his playoff career – he’s 0-3.

The Packers should be a popular public team, so it will be interesting to see what happens if this line gets to -6.