Before you bet on the AFC or NFC Championship Games in the NFL playoffs this week, you'll want to know to what the "sharps" are picking. They're the guys who make their entire living betting sports. Following their lead is one of the best ways to cash in huge on this week's slate of games.
SportsLine tapped into its Vegas sources to see what the sharps are backing this week. What it found out: The pros are loving the under in Jaguars-Patriots, sending it from 47 to 46 at most books.
BookMaker's Scott Cooley told SportsLine that the under in the AFC title game has been "a steady sharp position." It remains the highest over-under for a Jaguars game this season, and the under is 8-2 in the Jags' past 10 games vs. AFC opponents.
The NFC Championship Game total between the Eagles and Vikings hasn't drawn as much smart money, but the pro lean is over. The total opened at 38 and is sitting at 38.5 or 39 at every book.
Vikings-Eagles features the league's No. 1 and No. 4 scoring defenses. Minnesota allowed just 15.8 points per game, while the Eagles allowed 18.4.
However, pro bettors aren't sold that two top-flight defenses colliding necessarily sends the NFC Championship Game under the total.
The Eagles have shown cracks in the armor. They're in the bottom half of the league in passing yards allowed and gave up 434 yards and three touchdowns to Eli Manning and the Giants' depleted receiving corps in Week 15.
The Vikings, meanwhile, are fresh off a divisional round game against the Saints in which Drew Brees went off for almost 300 yards and three touchdowns.
Pro bettors know both teams are capable of putting up points and, if you're a believer in defense, remember that defensive scores count toward the over-under as well.
The pros also are also pounding one side of both the Jaguars-Patriots and Vikings-Eagles spreads hard, causing bookmakers to move their lines. And "a substantial pro bet" has also been made.
Who else are the pros pounding this weekend? Visit SportsLine to see which NFL teams Vegas pros are hammering this week, plus see which sides of the big Jaguars-Patriots and Vikings-Eagles games are getting all the action, all from pros who make their money on pro football, and find out.
