2024 NFL playoffs: Super Bowl outright winner predictions, odds and best bets plus get £30 in free bets with Sky Bet

When do the 2024 NFL playoffs start?

The NFL playoffs begin with Wild Card weekend, starting with Cleveland at Houston on Saturday evening.

It’s also worth noting that Sky Bet are offering £30 in free bets when you bet on the 2024 Super Bowl and NFL playoffs.

Where can I watch the 2024 NFL playoffs in the UK?

All games are shown live on Sky Sports NFL. The schedule for Wild Card weekend is as follows:

Cleveland Browns at Houston Texans 9.30pm Saturday
Miami Dolphins at Kansas City Chiefs 1am Saturday night
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills 6pm Sunday
Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys 9.30pm Sunday
LA Rams at Detroit Lions 1am Sunday night
Philadelphia Eagles at Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1am Monday night

Best bets for the 2024 NFL Super Bowl 

Baltimore Ravens
2pts 16-5 bet365

Los Angeles Rams
1pt each-way 50-1 bet365, Coral, Ladbrokes

New Sky Bet customers can also click here to get £30 in NFL free bets

2024 NFL playoffs best bets and Super Bowl predictions

The Baltimore Ravens have achieved the key goal they fell short of in the last two seasons by keeping quarterback Lamar Jackson healthy until the playoffs and they have a great chance to secure their first Super Bowl success for 11 years.

The Ravens have won the top seeding in the AFC playoffs, which means they can rest up while the other six teams in their conference beat each other up in the Super Wild Card games this weekend. That week off proved a huge help last season as top seeds Kansas City and Philadelphia met in the Super Bowl, although the only other top-ranked team to reach the big game in the three years since the playoffs were expanded to 14 teams were the Chiefs, who lost to the Buccaneers the first time the format was used.

The Ravens have a recent head-to-head win over NFC top seeds and Super Bowl favourites the San Francisco 49ers, having thrashed them 33-19 in California on Christmas Day. Their defence proved way too much for 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy to handle as he threw four interceptions in his worst game of the year by some distance.

If that game had not happened, it would be hard to pick holes in the 49ers' chances, as they have largely looked dominant other than a three-game wobble in October, and they had looked a well-oiled machine again until their meltdown against Baltimore.

It's not really going out on a limb to say that the Ravens could be unbeaten this season as they lost late leads in all three of their genuine losses against the Titans, Steelers and Browns, and they played their reserves in the Week 18 defeat to Pittsburgh.

Rookie Zay Flowers, their first-round pick in the draft, is coming into his own now and they have not been disrupted too much by injuries. Running backs JK Dobbins and promising rookie Keaton Mitchell have both been lost but Gus Edwards and Justice Hill have kept the offence's wheels turning, while tight end Mark Andrews was Jackson's favourite target but young Isaiah Likely has done a fantastic job replacing him, scoring five touchdowns in his last five games.

With Jackson helping out, the Ravens lead the league in rushing yards per game with 156.5 - 15 more than anyone else - and their defence has the most sacks in the NFL this year with 60.

It has already been a great year for Ravens head coach John Harbaugh's family, as his brother Jim led Michigan to the college football championship on Monday night, but now John has a great chance to land his second Super Bowl with the Ravens after he beat Jim's 49ers in February 2013.

Of the other AFC contenders, Buffalo can blow hot and cold, defending champions Kansas City do not look the same team this year with their offence struggling and Miami have been hit by a host of key injuries at a bad time. The Texans and Steelers have done well just to get this far, while the Browns have overcome adversity all season and are the only team to have beaten both the Ravens and the 49ers this year. However, they are going to have to do it the hard way as playing in the same division as the Ravens has left them seeded only fifth.

The 49ers face stiff competition in the NFC, with the toughest challenge likely to come from the second-seeded Cowboys, although San Francisco crushed them 42-10 in their regular-season meeting. The Eagles have lost five of their last six games since a 10-1 start, while the improving Packers and Buccaneers don't look up to Super Bowl standard. 

The winners of the Rams v Lions wild-card game could be the team to watch in the NFC and at 50-1, the each-way value has to lie with the Rams over the 20-1 Lions. The Rams have reconstructed their roster faster than expected since their Super Bowl win two years ago and shrewd coach Sean McVay's team are coming into the playoffs after seven wins in their last eight games, with the only loss coming to the Ravens in overtime. They pose a threat to anyone with receivers Cooper Kupp and rookie sensation Puka Nacua, while running back Kyren Williams has helped to transform their offence.

Pickswise is the #1 destination for US sports betting, covering the NFL, NBA, MLB and more in unrivalled detail. 

For all your US sports betting needs, make sure to check out Pickswise, the home of stateside picks, predictions and odds.

Get £30 in Sky Bet free bets when you bet on the 2024 NFL playoffs

We’ve already mentioned that Sky Bet are offering £30 in NFL free bets.

You can follow these simple steps to grab £30 in free bets to place on Phil Agius's Super Bowl tips – it's fast, secure and straightforward.

1. Head over to Sky Bet through this link and click the 'Get Bonus' button
2. Create your username and password
3. Place a minimum deposit of £5 and then place a bet at odds of 2.0 (Evs) or greater with a minimum stake of 5p
4. Your free bets will be credited as three £10 free bet tokens

Sky Bet NFL betting sign-up offer: terms and conditions

It's worth taking a few minutes to read through the terms and conditions associated with the new NFL betting sign-up offer before signing up. Doing so will help you get a better grasp of the NFL free bets offer and what's expected of you as a new customer.

• New customers only
• Applies to first single & each-way bet only 
• 5p minimum stake
• Odds of 2.0 (Evs) or greater
• 3 x £10 bet tokens
• Free bet stakes not included in returns
• Free bets exclude virtuals
• Free bets are non-withdrawable
• Free bets expire after 30 days
• Eligibility restrictions and further T&Cs apply
• 18+. Begambleaware.org

Click for free bets and betting offers from the Racing Post

Commercial notice: This article contains affiliate links. Offers are handpicked and come from operators our experts have first-hand experience of. Opening an account via one of these links will earn revenue for the Racing Post, which will be used to continue producing our award-winning coverage of horseracing and sports betting.