The second match of the NFL 2022 Playoffs sees two quarterbacks making their postseason debuts as the attention turns to the AFC where the fourth seeded Jacksonville Jaguars take on the fifth seeds Jacksonville Jaguars.
The winners here are likely to be on the road at the Kansas City Chiefs next week but this is a big match in its own right as Trevor Lawrence and Justin Herbert look for a win in their first playoff game.
Jacksonville Jaguars
Halfway through this season if you had said the Jacksonville Jaguars would be playing a playoff match there wouldn’t have been many who believed you. If you had said they would be hosting one you might have got a doctor called for you but courtesy of a strong second part of the campaign from themselves and a bit of a collapse from the Tennessee Titans they won the AFC South title and will be on their home field here.
The Jaguars have won their last five matches so they are heading into the postseason in great form and they are going well on both sides of the ball too. This time of year teams generally need a running game going well and a defence standing up to make plays. The Jaguars have both of those and with Trevor Lawrence getting better by the week you have to respect Jacksonville. That is even more the case when you consider their game last week was winner takes all so they have the advantage of having played under this pressure.
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Los Angeles Chargers
The Los Angeles Chargers were always fighting for a wildcard spot in the AFC once they allowed the Kansas City Chiefs to get away from them in the AFC West and to their credit they came up with the goods at the right time to secure it. They actually had their position locked in with a week to spare but despite that head coach Brandon Staley chose to play his starters against the Denver Broncos and paid the price for that because Mike Williams picked up an injury which has ruled him out of this match.
That is going to impact the passing game of the Los Angeles Chargers although Justin Herbert will still have Keenan Allen to go to while Austin Ekeler could be on the end of a number of passes as well. The Chargers are going to need their defence to come to play here, especially against the run where Jacksonville have a running back in great form. The Bolts won’t want this to turn into a shootout without Williams in tow.
Betting
I think this will be a close match which could go either way. I am on the Los Angeles Chargers to win the Super Bowl so I hope they can keep that bet going for a little longer but I would have preferred it had Mike Williams been available. He isn’t and I think that could impact the Chargers and makes this a lot more 50:50 than it might otherwise have been. Rather than chance my arm on the outcome I’ll go to the player markets for a bet in this one.
Travis Etienne has come to the party for the Jacksonville Jaguars since James Robinson was ruled out for the season and his rushing yards line looks a little low to me at 76.5. He didn’t impact the game on the ground last week but the Tennessee Titans run defence is legit. The Chargers run defence is the worst in the league so I expect a lot more running plays dialled up for this match, particularly if the Jaguars get the lead. Etienne covered this line in the three weeks prior to last week and given that the Bolts are giving up huge yardage to running backs the over looks a fairly obvious play here.
Tips
Back T.Etienne – Over 76.5 rushing yards for a 3/10 stake at 1.91 with Bet365
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