The greats will face off when the Patriots and Broncos meet, while Newton can build his legacy by inspiring the Panthers against the Cardinals
5/8 – New England Patriots to beat the Denver Broncos
The New England Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady squares off against old foe Peyton Manning of the Denver Broncos in what could be the iconic duo’s final battle.
They will both insist that it is about their two respective teams on Sunday, but with everyone focusing on what is likely their last encounter – especially for what is on the line – this could be a really strong match-up.
New England stuttered into the playoffs, which saw them lose their grip on the No. 1 seed, but the evidence last weekend showed that Bill Belichick’s men are always ready come the post-season.
With Julian Edelman back, they built a solid lead and, while they gave the Kansas City Chiefs a chance to take it all away, this is the kind of team that gives in so easily.
While it has been reported as a turbulent season for the Broncos, who switched out an injured-but-struggling Manning mid-season, they have still amassed a great record.
Their defence has been outstanding and has carried them to this game, but if their offence finally comes to the party they will be very dangerous again.
Even though their offence has struggled to put up points, Denver still get plenty of opportunities with their defence forcing turnovers.
With that in mind, back there to be over 44.5 points in the game at 10/11 because both teams are more than capable of scoring more than 22 points apiece.
Also, this will be an incredibly close affair as New England have a few injuries in defence and haven’t quite clicked like many expected.
Back them to win with a -2.5 handicap at 10/11 as we can envisage Brady pulling off another two-minute drill to sink Manning in potentially his final game.
5/8 – Carolina Panthers to beat the Arizona Cardinals
What an incredible year it has been for both of these teams.
Neither were touted as potential Super Bowl contenders, but on Sunday one of them will advance to the big dance and it will be well deserved.
The Carolina Panthers almost put together a perfect season – although even they admitted the loss may have helped them – and showed their grit again last weekend.
They stormed out to an impressive early lead against the Seattle Seahawks and, while they panicked late on, the home team had enough to hold on to the victory.
The Arizona Cardinals were known to be a solid outfit, but no-one thought we would see them as the best offensive team in the NFL this season.
The return of Larry Fitzgerald has been a joy and, unsurprisingly, it was his superb playoff game that helped Bruce Arians’ team beat the Green Bay Packers in an incredible overtime match-up.
Despite tipping the Panthers to win, they have been experts at coming from behind this season and against someone as good as the Cardinals, they may have to do that again.
Expect Arizona to come out strong and give Ron Rivera’s defence a run for their money, so back the away team to lead at half-time at 29/20.
This also might look like two great defences against each other, but it is the sheer quality of these offences – the influence of the Panthers’ Cam Newton could be decisive – that will be on display here.
It could be a real shootout, so go for both teams to combine for over 47.5 points at 10/11.
Neither side will want to risk leaving a play out there as they both dream of their franchise’s first-ever Super Bowl victory.
*Odds and amounts correct at time of publication but subject to change. See site for latest.
