Betting the Conference Championships

Jan 2016

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We are one step closer to betting on the Super Bowl, as the Conference championships will determine which two teams will have the privilege of playing each other in the grand finale. With only four teams left in the running, it will take a lot of effort for any team to win, as all of the close games during the Division playoff round demonstrated. Teams will need to learn from their mistakes and make sure to plug those weaknesses that haunted them during last weekend’s games.

Arizona Cardinals at Carolina Panthers

The Cardinals will be facing the Carolina Panthers this weekend, and as luck has it they are the underdogs for this game. Based off of their performance playing against the Packers, there are a few things they need to be careful with:

Larry Fitzgerald needs to take command in a much bigger capacity. They were able to tie the game due to a Hail Mary pass, but that may not work against the Panthers.
Defense should keep their pressure on the pass plays, as they did a great job with coverage, but they need to work heavily on stopping the rush plays if they hope to succeed.
Avoid penalties! This goes for all teams, but it hurt the Cardinals the most when they lost a 100-yard touchdown due to a penalty; every point counts.

The Panthers, facing Super Bowl favorites Arizona Cardinals, will have a tougher time dealing with this offense than they did against the Seahawks. However, there are still many gaps, as the last two quarters of the game, they didn’t score once and could have possibly led to defeat.

Fast starts don’t mean the pace of the game will remain in their favor. They were able to score a 31-0 lead in the first two quarters, but the Seahawks were able to stop them from scoring again in the second half of the game. The Cardinals will be much more level-headed from the start.
Stopping big plays will be a must. The Seahawks didn’t have possession of the ball for very long, but when they did they were able to convert, showing the Panther defense had plenty of holes.
Running backs will be paramount, as they proved against the Seahawks that is their greatest offensive weapon.
Continue to put pressure on the quarterback will be extremely important against a big passing team that is the Cardinals.

New England Patriots at Denver Broncos

It will be a great quarterback match-up, where Tom Brady faces Peyton Manning, possibly for the last time. As shown in their last game against the Chiefs:

Brady will be the focus of all offense, as he seems to be back to his old form and will be dangerous.
Rob Gronkowski, enough said.
They have to take chances and score touchdowns, as simply scoring field goals will not be enough to win.

The Broncos match against the Steelers proved to be helpful, as it gave them insight into how to properly stop a good quarterback.

Take advantage of every single turnover, as it could lead to a comeback.
A lot of pressure on the quarterback will be needed, as it worked against Ben Roethlisberger and may work against Brady.
Defense will need to play a major role during this game, as the Patriots offense is nothing to take lightly.

It will take a fierce and competitive team to win in the end during this weekend’s games, betting on the favorite or underdog will be a tough choice to make, but will give us the two teams that will face-off at the Super Bowl 50.