NFL: St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks
NFL: St. Louis Rams at Seattle Seahawks Reuters

Underdog by eight points in most sportsbooks, the New Orleans Saints need all the confidence they can get when they face the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Divisional Playoffs in the second week of the NFL postseason.

The 26-24 win over the Philadelphia Eagles in last week’s wildcard game should give them some boost as the victory came via a rare road victory for the franchise. The Seahawks gained the opening round by for topping the NFC with 13 wins against 3 losses in the regular season.

Seattle is virtually unstoppable at home. They went 7-1 at the CenturyLink Field this season and 16-1 overall in their last 17 games there. They also have a six-game home winning streak in the postseason.

The Saints limped into the playoffs winning just two of their last five games in the regular season. However, they did enough in beating the Eagles led by their defense—Philly only had 186 passing yards and 80 rushing yards—and kicker Shayne Graham who made four field goals from 36, 46, 35 and 32 yards.

Star quarterback Russell Wilson and Seattle’s best passing defense (172.0 opponents’ passing yards per game – 1st in the NFL) are expected to lead the Seahawks, which also may be getting back wide receiver Percy Harvin and Luke Willson, both coming off injuries but saw practice time over the last week.

Seattle limits the opposition to just 14.4 points per game-- the best mark in the league this season.

Watch the Saints vs. Seahawks via NFL Game Pass.

Betting Lines: New Orleans Saints (+8) vs. Seattle Seahawks (O/U: 46.5)
Game time: 7:35 a.m. AEDT (Sunday, January 12)

Betting Against the Spread

New Orleans Saints Trends
 - Saints are 5-11 ATS in their last 16 games in January
- Saints are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games after a win
- Saints are 1-6 ATS in their last 7 games on the road
- Saints are 2-5 ATS in their last 7 games vs. Seattle
- Saints are 1-4 ATS in their last 5 games in Seattle

Seattle Seahawks Trends
 - Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 games after a win
- Seahawks are 12-3 ATS in their last 15 games vs. teams with winning records
- Seahawks are 4-1 ATS in their last 5 home games in the NFL Playoffs
- Seahawks are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games in the NFL Playoffs
- Seahawks are 19-7 ATS in their last 26 games vs. NFC teams