NFL Sunday: Pick a pair of plus-money playoff plays

It's time we get some bets locked in for NFL Sunday. We're just 48 hours away from the conference championships. These two games figure to be both great games to watch and terrific betting opportunities. We could go on and on about some of our favorite looks, but we're tightening up, offering up just our two favorites for Sunday's slate.

A pair of our favorite plus-money plays for Sunday

Lamar Jackson TD (+110 Fanatics)

Lamar Jackson is fresh off a 100-yard, two-touchdown game on the ground, and after watching Josh Allen tally 70+ yards and two scores last week against the Chiefs, this sure feels like the right path for us.

In the biggest game of his career, it's extremely hard for us to see a world where Jackson is not using his legs as much as possible to deliver a win for the Ravens. He has 100+ yards in three of his last four postseason games, so he's shown a proclivity to tuck it and run in the playoffs before.

The last time he saw Kansas City, Jackson finished with 107 rushing yards and two touchdowns. Some are saying we're being almost too reasonable here asking for just one TD on Sunday.

Teaser: Lions +13.5 & over 45.5 (+108 ESPN)

We started this week discussing our love for the Detroit spread at +7, and not much has changed on that read. We truly do think Detroit can win this game, but at the very least, keeping this game close feels like the right path to back.

We're opting for a bit of a six-point teaser, moving the spread down in Detroit's favor and moving the total down six points to a more reasonable 45.5. We lean points in this one, as both secondaries have had issues guarding WRs, so here's to some fireworks in a game decided by 13 or fewer points.

If you're looking for more NFL content ...

• Two player props for Chiefs-Ravens
• TD bets for Chiefs-Ravens
• TD bets for Lions-49ers

We already dove into a few markets to get this week going, which you can explore above. With Deebo Samuel's injury status becoming clear (sounds like he's playing), we'll have Lions-Niners props on the site today!

In the news ...

Australian Open final set with Sinner vs. Medvedev — The late night/early morning action out in Australia has led us to a Jannik Sinner vs. Daniil Medvedev Australian Open final. Sinner dispatched World No. 1 Novak Djokovic in four sets, while it took Medvedev five sets (and three straight winning sets after going down 0-2) to take down Alexander Zverev. Sinner, who has dropped just one set all tournament, is the heavy favorite to win at -245. We're not seeing a ton of bets we love at first glance, but we're considering a combo of Medvedev to win the first set and Sinner to win the match at +550. Both men's and women's finals will take place this weekend in Melbourne.

Falcons hire Raheem Morris to be next head coach — It was widely anticipated that Bill Belichick would be Atlanta's next head coach, but that was not meant to be, with the Falcons instead hiring Rams defensive coordinator Raheem Morris. Morris has gotten the most out of an L.A. defense devoid of much proven talent, and he was with Atlanta for from 2015-2020, most recently as their interim head coach. Morris will be tasked with filling his staff and finding the Falcons a suitable quarterback, perhaps Justin Fields? As for Belichick, it seems like he will be sitting out this year, most recently being priced at -2000 to not coach a team this season on DraftKings.

NBA All-Star starters announced — The 2024 NBA All-Star starters have been announced for both conferences, with the festivities set to take place the weekend of Feb. 16. The West consists of Nikola Jokic, Kevin Durant, Luka Doncic, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander and LeBron James (a record 20th All-Star nod). On the East, it's Joel Embiid, Jayson Tatum, Giannis Antetokounmpo, Damian Lillard and Tyrese Haliburton. We love betting the All-Star events around here, namely the three-point contest, so fret not, we'll touch on this when the time comes.

Today's Bark Bets is written by Griffin Carroll. Follow him on Substack: griffybets.substack.com.