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The New York Jets lost to the Buffalo Bills 27 - 10 yesterday to close out their 2021 season. Now the Jets enter the long NFL offseason, with visions of future playoff runs dancing in their heads. The Jets may be done playing football this season, but the 14 teams in the NFL playoffs are just getting started.
According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the defending AFC Champions Kansas City Chiefs are the biggest favorites in the opening round of the NFL playoffs. The Chiefs are 12.5 point favorites at home against a Pittsburgh Steelers team that sneaked into the playoffs thanks to a shocking Jacksonville Jaguars upset over the heavily favored Indianapolis Colts in the last week of the season.
12.5 points is a very large spread in the playoffs, but in this case it’s probably justified. Since the calendar turned to November the Chiefs have arguably been the best team in the NFL. The Chiefs have won 9 out of 10 games to close the season, their only loss coming on the road by three points to a very good Cincinnati Bengals team. The Steelers, on the other hand, have gone just 4-4 in their last eight games, and they were crushed by the Chiefs in Kansas City, 36 - 10, just a few weeks ago. Ben Roethlisberger is well past his expiration date, and without a quarterback who can throw the ball downfield, the Steelers offense should be no match for the high-powered Chiefs’ attack.
The Steelers’ path to victory is probably through a heavy dose of a clock-eating ground game and a great performance by their defense. Anything is possible, but I doubt the Steelers have enough to get it done.
The Moneyline odds are Kansas City Chiefs -650/ Pittsburgh Steelers +460.
The Over/Under for the game is 46.
In other playoff action, the Cincinnati Bengals are favorites at home to beat the Las Vegas Raiders; The Buffalo Bills are home favorites over the New England Patriots; the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are home favorites over the Philadelphia Eagles; the Dallas Cowboys at home are favored over the San Francisco 49ers; and the Los Angeles Rams, like every home team this week, are favored over the Arizona Cardinals.
What do you think? Which team should be the biggest favorites this week?
Poll
Which team should be the biggest favorites in the first round of the NFL playoffs?
This poll is closed
-
60%
Chiefs
(59 votes) -
2%
Steelers
(2 votes) -
5%
Bengals
(5 votes) -
0%
Raiders
(0 votes) -
6%
Bills
(6 votes) -
0%
Patriots
(0 votes) -
15%
Buccaneers
(15 votes) -
0%
Eagles
(0 votes) -
4%
Cowboys
(4 votes) -
3%
49ers
(3 votes) -
1%
Rams
(1 vote) -
2%
Cardinals
(2 votes)
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