There are two games on the schedule for Sunday, this time with the Texans vs. Patriots at 3 p.m. ET and then the Rams vs. Bears at 6:30 p.m. ET. Below, we explain our favorite NFL divisional round picks for these matchups, along with the best sportsbook odds.
NFL Divisional Round Picks
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Texans vs. Patriots Odds & Best Bets
| FanDuel Odds | DraftKings Odds | BetMGM Odds | |
| Texans Moneyline | +150 | +142 | +145 |
| Patriots Moneyline | -178 | -170 | -175 |
| Texans Spread | +3 (-104) | +3 (+100) | +3 (+100) |
| Patriots Spread | -3 (-118) | -3 (-120) | -3 (-120) |
| Total | o40.5 (-115); u40.5 (-104) | o40.5 (-115); u40.5 (-105) | o40.5 (-110); u40.5 (-110) |
There is, unfortunately, big injury news heading into this game. Texans stud WR Nico Collins is most likely out for this game after suffering a concussion in the Texans Wild Card playoff win over the Steelers. He did not practice all week, and while he has not yet been officially ruled out at the time of this writing, the guess here is that it will happen soon enough.
It is never fun to discuss injuries when trying to analyze a game, but the unfortunate reality is a lot of times the healthiest teams are the ones who move on in the playoffs. On the Patriots side, they are actually getting healthier, with the expectation that CB Christian Gonzalez is returning from a concussion of his own that caused him to miss recent games.
In terms of the actual matchup, if the Texans are going to manage to win this game without Collins, it will be on the heels of their dominant defense. The Patriots had a wonderful season, but all the talk about them is their lack of schedule. The Patriots have played 18 games (including the playoffs), and only two of those games were against teams in the top 10 of defensive DVOA.
Granted, they were both Patriots victories, but one was over the Browns, who had the worst offensive DVOA in the NFL, and the Chargers, who's offensive line was decimated at the end of the season and they just got throttled by the Patriots. The Texans offense, while not world-beating, was higher rated than both the Chargers or Browns offense, while their defense is also significantly better.
The official prediction here is a low-scoring game that the Texans are able to keep close simply because of how over-powering their defense is, but the Patriots pull it out in the end. So, we'll take the under and the Texans +3, but in a Patriots victory.
The Pick: Texans +3 (+100) BetMGM
Rams vs. Bears Odds & Best Bets
| FanDuel Odds | DraftKings Odds | BetMGM Odds | |
| Rams Moneyline | -200 | -198 | -200 |
| Bears Moneyline | +172 | +164 | +165 |
| Rams Spread | -3.5 (-118) | -3.5 (-118) | -3.5 (-118) |
| Bears Spread | +3.5 (-102) | +3.5 (-102) | +3.5 (-102) |
| Total | o48.5 (-105); u48.5 (-115) | o48.5 (-110); u48.5 (-110) | o48.5 (-110); u48.5 (-110) |
While this game also has some injury news to discuss, the biggest thing to look out for is the projected weather in Chicago Sunday night. Obviously, this is all subject to change, but right now the projected temperature is in the teens with a wind chill of single digits. So, it is going to be cold.
Then, there is the possibility of both wind and snow. The current forecast looks like sustains winds of 10-15 mph (which will have minimal impact on throwing) and gusts around 20-25, but with models predicting much heavier win coming in post-game, it is possible that wind sneaks in to be during the game. A flurry is possible, but a big snow shower is not expected. The thing is, the weather in Chicago can be unpredictable, so this will be something to monitor as we get closer to game-time.
Common sense would suggest that a cold, windy and possibly snowy game would favor a Chicago team over a Los Angeles team, but this Rams team fared well in a blizzard in Philadelphia last year, coming close to taking down the future Super Bowl Champion Eagles.
As far as the injury news, Matthew Stafford looks to have avoided anything serious with his hand/finger after getting banged up in their Wild Card victory over the Panthers last week, while the rest of the roster looks healthy. The Bears did lose two key members of their team last week to season ending injuries, with their starting LT and LB going down in Ozzy Trapilo and T.J. Edwards, respectively.
Before a minor end of season swoon, there were a lot of analysts out there who thought the Rams were the best team in the NFL, but if we know anything about the cardiac Bears is that they are never out of a game, even if they are down two-scores late in the fourth quarter. The Rams get the road victory, but the Bears make it interesting at the end and manage to cover the number. This is another game where the under is probably the best play on the board.
The Pick: Bears +3.5 (-102) DraftKings