There isn't much more parity you could ask for heading into conference championship weekend, one of the best football weekends of the year. Let's look at NFC Championship Game Picks and NFC Championship Game Picks.
There isn't much more parity you could ask for heading into conference championship weekend, one of the best football weekends of the year. The Philadelphia Eagles (+250) are the slight favorite for the Super Bowl, followed by the Cincinnati Bengals (+260), Kansas City Chiefs (+290), and San Francisco 49ers (+330). The Eagles' +250 Super Bowl odds are the longest for a Super Bowl favorite entering a conference championship weekend since at least 1980. For the sixth time ever, all four of the surviving teams finished the regular season with 12-plus victories (the others were in 2015, 2013, 1998, 1991 and 1990). And at the most crucial time of the year, all four teams are blazing hot. On paper, the games appear to be two pretty equal games. Both games have spreads of 2.5 points or less. Along with the 1982 and 1997 seasons, this would mark the third occasion in history where both conference final games have a spread of 2.5 or less.
When the NFL's hottest team is an underdog, the competition is fierce. This is the situation with the 49ers, who are coming off a run of 12 straight victories as they prepare to visit the top-seeded Eagles in the NFC Championship Game. Since 1970, the 49ers are only the second postseason underdog with a winning streak of 12 or more games. Prior to falling to the eventual Super Bowl champion Patriots in the AFC championship game, the 2004 Steelers had a 15-game winning streak.
NFL Championship Game Picks
San Francisco 49ers at Philadelphia Eagles -2.5, 46.5
The public had a good week last week and they are feeling so good about things that they are playing both games on Sunday. The public is backing the Eagles minus the points in the NFC title game. It is almost hard to believe that the public would be going against a team that has won 12 straight games, but that is the case in the NFC Championship Game. The Eagles have looked dominant with Jalen Hurts under center, but San Francisco has been superb since Brock Purdy took over at quarterback. It really is a matchup between two excellent teams and it should be a great one to watch. The 49ers are the top defensive team in the league, but they should get a stiff test from a Philadelphia offense that has been tough to stop when Hurts has been healthy. The public is backing the Eagles at home minus the points, so we go against the public and take the 49ers plus the points.
Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs -1, 47
The public is backing the Bengals on the road in the AFC Championship Game. The Bengals are the hottest team in the AFC and they have also done well against the Chiefs recently, winning each of the past three meetings, including last year’s AFC title game. The concern on the Kansas City side is the injury to Patrick Mahomes. He has a high ankle sprain and those type of injuries usually take some time to heal and it has been just over a week since Mahomes got hurt. If Mahomes is limited in any way it could be the edge that Cincinnati needs to win this game. The Bengals have a potent offense led by Joe Burrow and a defense that is underrated. What the Chiefs have is home field advantage, but they had that edge a year ago and they still didn’t get the win.
It is interesting to note that in each of the three Cincinnati wins over Kansas City in the last two years, all three games were three-point wins for the Bengals and each game was high scoring. The Bengals won 34-31 and 27-24 at home and in last year’s AFC Championship Game at Kansas City it was a 27-24 win for Cincinnati. I am a little bit surprised the total on Sunday’s game is not higher, considering each of the past three meetings have sailed over the current number of 47. The public is on the Bengals so we’ll go with the Chiefs and we’ll also take the game to go over the total.
Check out the latest NFL Championship Game betting odds at top online sportsbooks.
