IT’S that time of year again when the NFL play-offs take centre stage and the road to the Super Bowl becomes as rough as it has ever been.

Last weekend was the Wild Card play-off round, but just one of those games could have been considered wild, or exciting, and that was the Cowboys’ 24-20 come-from-behind win over the Lions — with a little help from the officials. The reversal of a pass interference call on the Cowboys was for certain a game changer, and, in all probability, cost the Lions the game.

I don’t know what those officials were thinking, especially after watching the many replays from different angles. The officials blew it — plain and simple. And by so doing, they ruined the Lions’ chances of moving on in the play-offs.

The Panthers beat the Cardinals handily 27-16 and this was expected. The Cardinals’ ranks were decimated with injuries and they were down to their third-string quarterback. The Panthers, on the other hand, had the services of their number one quarterback, Cam Newton, who looked good considering his injuries suffered in a recent car accident.

The Ravens were the 3.5-point underdogs heading into the game and still took it to the Steelers beating them 30-17 in Pittsburgh. This was a most convincing win and sent a strong message to all and sundry that the Ravens are one of the most dangerous teams in the play-offs.

It is not outside the realm of possibility that they could go all the way. Remember I said that.

The Colts’ 26-10 beat down of the Bengals was painful to watch, particularly if you were rooting for the Bengals who have the reputation of not being able to get past the first round of the play-offs. This was very evident on Sunday last and questions have begun to surface in Cincinnati as to whether Bengals’ QB Andy Dalton is the right man for the job.

So the table is set for the Divisional Play-offs and the format remains the same. Win and you move on to the Conference Championships; lose, and you clean out your locker and go home. The four teams that earned a bye in the Wild Card round will now bow into action, namely the Seattle Seahawks, Green Bay Packers, New England Patriots and Denver Broncos.

On Saturday, at approximately 4:35 pm, the Baltimore Ravens face off against the New England Patriots in what could very well be the game of the week. It’s in Foxboro and weather may very well play a key role. Most of North America is experiencing an Arctic freeze which would favour the home team. I’m picking the Ravens in an upset. You can see this game on NBC.

At 8:15 pm, the Carolina Panthers go up against the defending champs the Seattle Seahawks in Seattle. All good things must come to an end and the Panthers’ recent streak is one of them. The Seahawks at home are fierce, particularly when they are aided and abetted by the 12th man — the hometown crowd. This game is on FOX.

Sunday’s games kick off on FOX at 1:05 pm and will feature the highly-favoured Tony Romo and the Dallas Cowboys against the legendary Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers. This game will be played at Lambeau Field in Green Bay — aka the frozen Tundra. The Cowboys are used to the comfortable conditions in their fancy stadium in Dallas and may find the conditions in Green Bay somewhat difficult. I think weather is going to be a factor and, as such, favour the Packers. I’m going with the home team. The late game, which is on CBS at 4:40 pm, features the rising star quarterback of the Indianapolis Colts, Andrew Luck. And he is going up against the wily veteran Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos.

Conventional wisdom suggests that the latter will prevail, but this is the NFL and these are the play-offs and, given that, any number “can play”, as they say. I’m looking for an upset as the Colts will take it to the Broncos and beat them convincingly.

The Wild Card weekend picks against the JustBet point spread saw Peter Lindo dominating with a perfect record of 4-0. Congrats Peter; let’s see if you can do that again this week. Andre Hutchinson and Mark Archer were both 2-2, while yours truly reverted to his usual style and scored a pathetic 1-3. Things may very well change this week as the Divisional Play-offs unfold.

Look out for some more fireworks in the Divisional Play-off round this weekend. Enjoy the games and don’t forget to place your NFL bets with JustBet — Jamaica’s number one sports betting provider. And make sure to tune in to the JustBet sports betting feature, JustBet Before The Whistle, every Thursday at 9:30 pm on TVJ.

NFL DIVISIONAL PLAY-OFF SCHEDULE & JUSTBET POINT SPREADS

*Point Spread (or handicap) – number of points that one team is favoured over another.

*Under/Over (U/O) – A bet on whether the combined points in a game will be greater or lesser than a particular number

Saturday, January 10

NE PATRIOTS v BAL RAVENS +7.5, U/O 47.5

SEA SEAHAWKS v CAR PANTHERS +10.5, U/O 40.5

Sunday Jan 11

GB PACKERS v DAL COWBOYS +6.5, U/O 53.5

DEN BRONCOS v IND COL_S +6.5, U/O 54.5

*Handicaps and Under/Over are subject to change before kick-off

EXPERTS’ PICKS AGAINST THE SPREAD

Peter Lindo’s Divisional Play-off picks (in bold)

PATRIOTS v RAVENS

SEAHAWKS v PANTHERS

PACKERS v COWBOYS

BRONCOS v COLTS

Last week’s record: 4-0

Play-off Record to date: 4-0

Mark Archer’s Divisional Play-off picks (in bold)

PATRIOTS v RAVENS

SEAHAWKS v PANTHERS

PACKERS v COWBOYS

BRONCOS v COLTS

Last week’s record: 2-2

Play-off Record to date: 2-2

Andre Hutchinson’s Divisional Play-off picks (in bold)

PATRIOTS v RAVENS

SEAHAWKS v PANTHERS

PACKERS v COWBOYS

BRONCOS v COLTS

Last week’s record: 2-2

Play-off Record to date: 2-2

Tony Scott’s Divisional Play-off picks (in bold)

PATRIOTS v RAVENS

SEAHAWKS v PANTHERS

PACKERS v COWBOYS

BRONCOS v COLTS

Last week’s record: 1-3

Play-off Record to date: 1-3