With just three weeks remaining until Super Bowl 57, the divisional round of the NFL playoffs is officially upon us. Featuring four games riddled with significant storylines, the Jacksonville Jaguars will look to build off their comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers by defeating the Kansas City Chiefs. The New York Giants aim to continue their red-hot stretch of play against their bitter divisional rival, the Philadelphia Eagles. Fresh off a win over the Minnesota Vikings last Sunday, Daniel Jones was nearly flawless for the group by passing for 301 yards and two touchdowns while adding 78 yards on the ground.
Set to square off in the most anticipated game of the weekend, the Buffalo Bills and Cincinnati Bengals will meet for the first time since their Monday night football game in week 16 was postponed. Able to survive a scare from the Miami Dolphins in the wild card round, Josh Allen and company prevailed 34-31. Lastly, following their dominant victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the Dallas Cowboys will travel to Santa Clara to battle the San Francisco 49ers in one of the league's oldest playoff rivalries. Undefeated under the guidance of rookie quarterback Brock Purdy, the 23-year-old tossed for 332 yards and three touchdowns scorers in a home blowout of the Seattle Seahawks. Here are my five best player prop bets to target in the divisional round.
5. Brandon Aiyuk Over 53.5 Receiving yards (-110)
One of the most under-the-radar receivers across the NFL this season, Aiyuk eclipsed the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in his young career. Developing a rapport with Purdy, the 24-year-old has recorded 73, 59, 101, 81, 19 and 57 receiving yards over his last six games. Squaring off against a Dallas defense that has been stout against the pass all year long, Dan Quinn's group is allowing just 200.9 passing yards per contest to opposing quarterbacks, the eighth lowest mark in the league. Along with this, they also sit eighth in yards per play (5.1) and third in sacks (54). However, with Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey, and George Kittle drawing the bulk of the coverage ahead of him, as long as Aiyuk draws multiple targets, look for this prop bet to cash.
4. Saquon Barkley Over 15.5 Rush Attempts (-115)
New York torched Minnesota's defense in the Wild Card Round. Jones put together one of the finest performances of his NFL tenure. The former sixth overall pick completed 24 of his 35 passes while amassing 379 total yards, the second most in a postseason game in team history. Set to face a significantly tougher test against Philadelphia, Jonathan Gannon's unit is number one in the league in yards per completion (8.7) and passing yards surrendered per game (179.8). However, while they remain stout against the pass, the Eagles have been gashed on the ground at times this season, leading them to sit 16th in rush yards per contest (121.6). As a result, look for the Giants to ride their star running back, leading him to go over the lowest rushing attempts total he has faced all year long.
3. Daniel Jones Under 217.5 Passing Yards (-120)
Jones has eclipsed the 300-yard mark through the air in two of his last three matchups after surpassing the total just once prior to that. Nonetheless, both games came against a Minnesota defense that ranked dead last against the pass. With a much harder matchup on deck on Saturday night, the Eagles have shut down opposing air attacks all year long. Led by the play of their two outstanding corners, Darius Slay and James Bradberry, the team sits first in yards per pass attempt (5.5) and seventh in completion percentage (61.25). Furthermore, after tossing for just 169 yards on 27 drops backs against Philadelphia in the Giant's 48-22 loss in December, look for Daboll and company to turn to the ground game in this one.
2. James Cook Under 39.5 Rushing Yards (-110)
Beginning to play a more prominent role in Buffalo's offense over the last month of the season, Cook carried the ball 12 times for 39 yards and a score against the Dolphins a week ago. Remaining A change of pace back to Devin Singletary, explosive runs are his style, with over 5.7 yards averaged per attempt. With a matchup against the Bengals on deck Sunday afternoon, lean on the under on his rushing total. Stout against the run, the Bengals sit top ten in the NFL in both opponent rushing attempts and yards per game. Moreover, Lou Anarumo's group has allowed just three dashes of over 20 yards all season long.
1. Christian Kirk Over 65.5 Receiving Yards (-110)
Kirk has proved his value as the number-one target for quarterback Trevor Lawrence. Fresh off a strong performance in the team's come-from-behind victory over the Chargers, the former Arizona Cardinal hauled in eight passes for 78 yards on 14 targets. Furthermore, the Texas A&M product found the end zone for the second straight game. With the Chiefs struggling to contain top receivers, the team sits in 17th in the NFL in pass DVOA while also remaining inside the bottom five in passing completions and attempts per game. Meanwhile, when Jacksonville and Kansas City met earlier on in the season, the 26-year-old caught nine balls for 105 yards and two touchdowns. Look for Kirk to be force-fed the ball once again in this matchup, leading this prop to cash.