The Philadelphia Eagles (9-6 straight up, 10-6 against the spread) and the Minnesota Vikings(10-6 SU, 6-10 ATS) will square off in today’s NFL Wilcard game and FiveStarPick.com will be giving its members the ATS winner.  Most Las Vegas sportsbooks have listed the Eagles as 3-point road favorites with the total set at 42. 

Last week Philadelphia laid the pipe to Dallas, winning 44-6, but what actually got the Eagles into the playoffs was Oakland beating Tampa Bay (in Tampa), 31-24, and Houston beating Chicago 31-24. It was the perfect storm for the Birds. The Vikings beat the Giants in Week 17, 20-19, by nailing a 50-yard field goal in the final seconds.  The Vikes failed to cover the 7-point spread (a FiveStar win). 

The trends show that Philadelphia is 10-4 ATS in its last 14 road games and Donovan McNabb is scoring 26 PPG on the road this season.  RB Brian Westbrook has rushed for 4 yards per carry in his last 5 games and has 189 receiving yards and 2 scores in the same five.  What’s more, Philly’s defense has held the opposition to 18.1 PPG on the season.

Week 13 was the turning point for this Eagles team.  After Reid benched McNabb in Week 12, he came back with a vengence beating Arizona in Week 13 (48-20).  The Eagles have since gone 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five. During this time, Philly outgained the Cardinals, Giants, Browns, Washington and Dallas in every single contest for a total of 550-yards.

Minnesota has a great defense against the run. Inside the Metrodome, the Vikings have allowed just 80.5 YPG and held opponents to 184.1 YPG through the air.   In addition, Minnesota allowed just 17.9 PPG inside their own building in 2008, helping this group go 6-2 at home.  What is strange is that even when the Vikings hold teams to 20 points or less, they are a weak 2-3 ATS with an overall record of 3-5 ATS overall at home.

The biggest achilles heal for both teams is red zone scoring.  Philly has a mere 49 percent success rate at scoring TDs from within the 20 and ranks 22nd in the league.  Minnesota has been even worse at 43 percent.

The Eagles have had great success against the Vikings in head-to-head action. In the last four clashes, Philly has gone a perfect 4-0, while a 9-1 ATS record in their last 10 meetings sets an unprecedented pace.

So who covers the spread in this NFL Wildcard matchup?  It’s time to step up your game, become a member of our family and find out.  Why not try our service out for 2-days and see if our talent for picking winners exceeds your expectations?  With over 2300 active members, you owe it to yourself to find out why FiveStarPick.com is the most accurate sports handicapping service on the net.  Our dime bettors won nearly $100K in 2008.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com

FiveStarPick.com has started off the New Year with a 5-1 ATS run and will give its members 3 stunning football plays in both the Independence Bowl and the NFL Wildcard Playoffs.  The focus of today’s preview is tonight’s game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Diego Chargers.  Las Vegas sportsbooks list the Colts as 1-point favorites with the total set at 50.

Indianapolis (12-4 straight up, 7-8 against the spread) enters the postseason riding a nine-game SU winning streak after beating the Titans last weekend as a three-point home underdog, 23-0. The Colts, playing this game as one of the AFC’s wild-card teams, have covered the spread in their last two contests.  Both the Titans and the Colts played their backups most of the game to avoid starter injuries, but during the time the starters did play, Quarterback Peyton Manning was 7-of-7 for 95 yards and a touchdown.

San Diego (8-8 SU, 7-8 ATS) won the AFC West Division by beating Denver last weekend as a 7-point home favorite, 52-21.  Charger QB Philip Rivers went 15-20 for 207 yards and 2 touchdowns, while Darren Sproles had 14 carries for 115 yards and a score.  San Diego is not at full strength with LaDainian Tomlinson and Antonio Gates hurting. In addition, the Chargers last two wins were against two weak defensive teams in the Buccs and Broncos.

So who covers the spread in tonight’s game?  Why not let FiveStarPick.com help?  Aren’t you tired of getting cold called by services that tell you about their 750,000 star play that’s a guaranteed winner. Here is a bit of advice…NOTHING is guaranteed when you are betting on sports.  These so called “handicappers” call 500 people on a Saturday morning and give them all a free play; 250 people will get the Colts -1 and 250 will get the Chargers +1.  After the game ends, they call back the 250 people who won and pitch them on charging thousands of dollars to their credit cards for more guaranteed winners.   We are not your typical sports handicapping service.  We care about our members and we live and die on every play. Why?  Because we are moving thousands of dollars of our own money on the same plays we give you. Gambling on sports is how we make our living.  Do we win every play?  Absolutely not and we will never pretend to.  Our plays are always posted for all to see, including our losing streaks. But by the end of the year we always seem to have a few hundred thousand dollars of the sportsbook’s money in our casino account.  Let us try and do the same for you.  Join our family of winners today and start your winning streak tonight.

Jimmy the Geek – FiveStarPick.com