Like I said on Tuesday, it’s important to get your bets in early IF you feel strongly about something. I generally like to have all the information at my fingertips (injuries, weather, etc.), but I let it rip on a few - mostly out of fear that lines would move out of my favor.

But before diving in, I cover some key injuries to watch this week, as well as a relatively unimpactful weather report.

Lots more to come ahead of this huge football weekend, but here’s a start.

Injuries To Monitor

This late in the season, injuries are going to play a major factor in these games. Information is widely available (I like Rotowire), but misinformation is also widely available, so be mindful what you’re reading. There are many internet doctors out there who claim to know things and while some do, they’re not always right.

Here are the injuries I’m paying attention to most closely:

• Zay Flowers (BAL WR) - Questionable (Knee). Flowers hasn’t practiced and internet rumors are suggesting he’s a longshot to play, and even if he does, his usage would be greatly reduced. More to come on this later in the week.

• Joshua Palmer (LAC WR) - Questionable (Foot). After missing last week, Palmer still hasn’t practiced this week and I’m not entirely sure what the prognosis looks like. McConkey is obviously more important for the Chargers but still…

• Gus Edwards (LAC RB) - Questionable (Ankle). Edwards hasn’t played since Week 16 but logged a limited practice on Tuesday. He’s trending the right way but it’s worth watching.

Other Questionable players who look pretty likely to play…

• Jalen Hurts (PHI QB) - Questionable (Concussion). Everyone was freaking out when Schefter tweeted Hurts remained in concussion protocol earlier this week, but that’s primarily as a result of him sitting out last week and not bothering to clear the final practice requirements. He’s currently scheduled to practice Wednesday and all signs point to him being fine.

• Jordan Love (GB QB) - Questionable (Elbow). Love exited last week’s game early after a stinger to the elbow in which he lost feeling in his hand. There are apparently no lingering symptoms and he should be fine.

• Cam Heyward (PIT DT) - Questionable (Illness). Do the Steelers have a bug moving through the locker room? Heyward hasn’t practiced this week due to the flu. I’d be shocked if he didn’t play but it’s still worth monitoring, as well as other Steelers like Chris Boswell who have also sat out practice with an illness.

• A.J. Brown (PHI WR) - Questionable (Knee).

• DeVonta Smith (PHI WR) - Questionable (Wrist).

• Romeo Doubs (GB WR) - Questionable (Illness).

• Cade Otton (TB TE) - Questionable (Knee).

• Jayden Daniels (WAS QB) - Playing (Leg).

Notable returns…

• Amari Cooper (BUF WR) - Playing (Personal). After missing last week’s game to attend a family matter, Cooper returned to practice in full on Wednesday.

• Marshon Lattimore (WAS CB) - Playing (Hamstring). After missing the last two games, Lattimore was a full participant during practice on Wednesday.

• Quay Walker (GB LB) - Questionable (Ankle). Walker hasn’t played since Week 15 and there was lots of speculation around whether or not he’d be ready for the playoffs. He was a limited participant on Wednesday and LaFleur said he’s optimistic, but we’ll see…

• David Montgomery (DET RB) - Questionable (Knee). Detroit obviously has a Bye but Dan Campbell said he expects Montgomery to be available for the Divisional Round.

Notable Outs…

• Christian Watson (GB WR) - Confirmed torn ACL.

• Jaire Alexander (GB CB) - IR (Knee).

There are definitely some others out there but they are either less notable and/or seem likely to play so not worth laying out in full.

Weather

Doesn’t appear to be a concern for any of the games (which in my opinion, is great).

Wild Card Weekend - Early Bets

Eagles/Goedert

Like I mentioned before, I think the Eagles are much better than the Packers…like more than a TD better. And even though, Jalen Hurts hasn’t officially been ruled back in, I’m ready to back Philly now - in case the line moves when he does get announced in. I have a feeling this is priced for Hurts playing already, but it’s worth a shot to go early.

That said, could the tush push be used less frequently or even off the table completely if Hurts is fresh off a 3-week concussion protocol? We’ve see Dallas Goedert take tush push snaps before…so why not? And even if Hurts is totally 100% unaffected (the likeliest outcome), Goedert is still a good target, so it’s worth a roll of the dice to me.

TB/Baker

There’s a realistic scenario where every favorite ends up winning this weekend, but if I had to guess which will be the most popular dawg in the eyes of the public, I think it’s Washington. That makes me even more confident in TB. They got their stinker game out of the way last week and still won. Sure, Baker might throw a pick or two, but I trust him with the ball in the fourth quarter. I can’t say the same about any rookie in the postseason.

And even if the Bucs go down, that should theoretically help the Baker rushing bet, which I feel really good about and might even come back to later in the week. We’ll see - I just wanted to get it before it moved to 20+.

Puka/Kickers

I alluded to both of these bets earlier in the week, but doesn’t this just feel like a Puka game? How do they not force feed him in this must-win scenario?

As for the Chargers/Texans game, this one isn’t new. Both teams are in the bottom half of the league in red zone to TD convergence, and the Chargers are one of the best defenses in the same metric.

U 42.5 may also be a play here, but the kicker props at 7.5 seemed too enticing to pass up right away.

No excuses, play like a champion.