Chiefs Return to Favorite Status After Wild Weekend
Four thrilling finishes see three underdogs pull upsets to set up Conference Championship Weekend, according to TheLines
LAS VEGAS, Jan. 24, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Kansas City Chiefs are poised to return to the Super Bowl for the third straight season and have reclaimed their preseason spot as favorites following a wild Divisional Weekend, according to analysts TheLines, which tracks odds in the U.S. regulated sports betting market.
The championship games are set after one of the wildest weekends in NFL Playoffs history. The Kansas City Chiefs will play host to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game on Sunday with the Chiefs opening Sunday night as 6.5 favorites, according to a consensus of the nation's largest legal online sportsbooks — including DraftKings, FanDuel, BetMGM, BetRivers, Caesars, and PointsBet. The over/under opened at 53.5 points.
In the NFC title game, the Los Angeles Rams opened at -3.5 over the San Francisco 49ers with a total of 46.5 points in a rematch of a Week 18 game in which San Francisco won to qualify for the playoffs.
Last week, TheLines noted the historic nature of the odds — the Divisional Weekend showed a combined point spread of just 14 points in the four games. Historical data showed that it was the second-lowest combined points in history.
The tight matchups played out in historic fashion — the road team, all underdogs, won the first three games and did it in similar fashion: kicking a walk-off field goal as time expired. The final game saw four lead changes in the final minutes between Kansas City and Buffalo, before the Chiefs prevailed in overtime.
"The wild nature of the Divisional Weekend will likely carry over to the Conference Championship weekend," said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. "With Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers now out of the playoffs, the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes return to their preseason position as Super Bowl favorites. But as these playoffs have shown, anything can happen."
Kansas City opened the season as the preseason Super Bowl favorite at +400. Following the Divisional Weekend, Kansas City moved from +400 at this time last week to +120 heading into this weekend
The Rams are in the NFC Conference Championship for just the second time since 2001. They won the NFC during the 2018 season before losing to Brady and the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl. They trail the Chiefs on the Super Bowl favorites list at +200 after opening the year at +1500.
San Francisco pulled off back-to-back underdog wins in beating the Dallas Cowboys and a stunning upset of Green Bay. The 49ers are now +450 to win the Super Bowl after opening the season at +1400.
The Bengals knocked off the AFC's top seeded Tennessee Titans to advance to the AFC Championship game for the first time since 1988. Cincinnati is now one win away from just their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history. The Bengals opened the year as +15000 longshots for the Super Bowl title, but are now a consensus +800.
The current odds for each playoff team to win Super Bowl LVI as of Jan. 23 (with preseason odds):
- Kansas City Chiefs +120 (+500)
- Los Angeles Rams +200 (+1500)
- San Francisco 49ers +450 (+1400)
- Cincinnati Bengals +800 (+15000)
The consensus point spreads for the Conference Championship Weekend, as of Jan. 23:
- Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (-6.5); over/under 53.5
- San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (-3.5); over/under 46.5
To access updated NFL playoff lines and Super Bowl odds, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/nfl-playoffs.
About TheLines.com:
TheLines.com is a leading source for news, analysis, and research related to the market for regulated sports betting in the United States. Affiliated with the PlayUSA.com Network, TheLines.com provides original daily reporting and offers player advocacy tools related to the advancement of safe, licensed, and legal online sports betting. Based in Las Vegas, the PlayUSA Network is independently owned and operated, with no affiliations to any casino — commercial, tribal, online, or otherwise.
Contact:
Zack Hall, Catena Media, 775-338-0745, [email protected]
SOURCE TheLines.com
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