NFL Wild Card PrizePicks Player Predictions (Monday)
Due to weather in Buffalo, the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Buffalo Bills game was moved to Monday, meaning there will now be two games on the final day of Wild Card weekend. In addition to the afternoon game, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers will host the Philadelphia Eagles to close out the first round of the playoffs.
Here are the best PrizePicks plays for the Monday Wild Card NFL playoff games.
Check out all of our predictions using our PrizePicks cheat sheet >>
Best NFL Wild Card Monday PrizePicks Predictions
Baker Mayfield Over 237.5 passing yards
When Mayfield faced the Philadelphia Eagles at home earlier this season, he completed just 15-of-25 passes for 146 yards. However, he's caught fire of late, and the Eaglesâ secondary has been one of the worst in football in the final stretch of the season.
Mayfield threw for more than 280 yards in three of his final four games of the season, including a 381-yard performance against the Green Bay Packers. Weather shouldn't have too much of an impact on this game, and without the aid of rain or severe winds, the Eagles have their work cut out for them.
The Eagles finished the year allowing 252.7 passing yards per game, the second-worst mark in the league. They finished 16th in the NFL in passing yards allowed per attempt but allowed 7.4 yards per attempt over their final three games of the season. Don't be surprised if Mayfield ends with more than 300 in this game.
DeVonta Smith Under 66.5 receiving yards
AJ Brown is out, which means many bettors are jumping on Smith's over. However, that's not a great idea considering his quarterback's health and the defense he's facing. Jalen Hurts' finger is going to be a problem in this game. Additionally, Smith is facing a defense that held him to just four catches for 28 yards earlier this season.
Smith does have seven 70-yard performances this season. However, the Bucs have been playing well against the pass late in the season. If Hurts was healthy, then it's likely Smith would go over. But he's not, and Smith is the only threat for the Bucs. They're going to double-team him most of the game and force the Eagles to beat them with any other player.
Pat Freiermuth Under 21.5 receiving yards
The Bills are very good against tight ends. They've allowed just 83 catches for 757 yards to the position this season. The only team that allowed fewer yards per catch to tight ends this season was the Cleveland Browns.
With this game being moved to Monday, the weather should allow for both teams to throw the ball more effectively than they would have on Sunday. However, Freiermuth is still going to struggle. He's gone for more than 21 yards in just one of his last four games and only four times this season.
The Steelers should throw the ball a lot in this game, but Freiermuth has four or fewer targets in each of his last three. So, even if Mason Rudolph throws the ball over 30 times, Rudolph won't be involved enough to hit this total.
Make sure to check out our other best bets for Monday:
- NFL Wild Card Touchdown Scorer Prop Bet Picks & Predictions
- NFL Wild Card PrizePicks Player Predictions
- NBA Same Game Parlay Odds, Picks & Predictions
- College Basketball Odds, Picks & Predictions
- Top NHL Odds, Picks & Predictions
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Phil Wood is a featured writer at BettingPros. For more from Phil, check out his archive and follow him @Phil_Wood_Jr.