TheLines: Kansas City Chiefs new Super Bowl favorites after wild NFL weekend

The Kansas City Chiefs have reclaimed their preseason spot as favorites to win the Super Bowl following a wild NFL Divisional Weekend, according to TheLines.
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The Kansas City Chiefs have reclaimed their preseason spot as favorites to win the Super Bowl following a wild NFL Divisional Weekend, according to TheLines, which tracks odds in the US-regulated sports betting market.

After one of the wildest weekends in NFL Playoffs history, the Conference Championship games are set. The Kansas City Chiefs will host the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC title game, while the Los Angeles Rams will host the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC title game. 

The Chiefs opened the AFC title game as 6.5 favorites over the Bengals, 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 Rams opened at -3.5 over the 49ers with a total of 46.5 points. This contest is also a rematch of a Week 18 game in which San Francisco won to qualify for the playoffs.

TheLines noted that the Divisional Weekend showed a combined point spread of just 14 points in the four games, the second-lowest combined points in history.

The tight matchups will be remembered for years, as the underdog road teams won the first three games and did it by kicking a walk-off field goal as time expired. Meanwhile, Kansas City vs Buffalo Bills saw four lead changes in the final minutes before the Chiefs won in overtime.

Brett Collson, a lead analyst for TheLines.com, commented: “The wild nature of the Divisional Weekend will likely carry over to the Conference Championship weekend.

“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. From being at +400 at this time last week, the team has moved to +120 heading into this weekend.

The Rams trail the Chiefs on the Super Bowl favorites list at +200 after opening the year at +1500. The team is in the NFC title game for just the second time since 2001 after winning the NFC during the 2018 season before losing to the New England Patriots in the Super Bowl.

After achieving successive underdog wins against the Dallas Cowboys and the Green Bay Packers, the 49ers are now +450 to win the Super Bowl after opening the season at +1400.

Meanwhile, after beating the AFC’s top-seeded Tennessee Titans to advance to their first AFC Championship game since 1988, the Bengals are now a consensus +800 to win the Super Bowl after opening the year as +15000 longshots. Cincinnati is now one win away from just their third Super Bowl appearance in franchise history.

The current odds for each playoff team to win Super Bowl LVI as of January 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 January 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