TheSpread.com

(The Spread) – A quick check of the public betting numbers for this weekend’s Divisional round games reveals that bettors aren’t necessarily sold on the favorites.

Somewhat surprisingly, 68% of the 21,000-plus wagers on this Sunday’s Giants-Packers game have been placed on New York +8. I only say “somewhat surprisingly” because the Giants have now looked dominate for the past three weeks. They absolutely took over last Sunday’s Wildcard game against the Falcons and with their pass rush, a lot of public bettors obviously believe they can hang with the Packers.

The public is also in slight favor of the Texans, who are 9-point underdogs versus the Ravens on Sunday. Of the 19,700-plus wagers on this weekend’s game, 51% of public bettors currently favor Houston +9. This may be because the Texans’ convincing win over the Bengals last Saturday is still fresh in people’s minds. But either way it’s somewhat surprising that Houston has generated so many backers given Baltimore’s 8-0 record at home this season.

View 2012 Super Bowl Odds

Granted, the public does favor the favorites in the other two Divisional round matchups this weekend. Of the 24,000-plus wagers on Saturday’s New Orleans-San Francisco game, 72% of public bettors currently favor the Saints –3.5. And of the 18,700-plus wagers on the Denver-New England game, 51% currently favor the Patriots –13.5.

Still, with the public’s penchant for betting on the favorite most weekends, it is at least somewhat surprising that they’ve jumped on two of the four underdogs this weekend, and only slightly favor New England.