Chiefs, Rams Open as Favorites in Conference Championships

The divisional round of the NFL playoffs ended last night, and my goodness, that may have been the greatest weekend of football in NFL history. Four great games, three decided with game winning field goals. And just when you think it couldn’t get any better, the finale between the Chiefs and the Bills develops into a game for the ages, with wild lead swings all over the place in the last few minutes, and an overtime game winning touchdown by the Chiefs. The Conference Championship games will almost certainly be a bit of a letdown after what we saw this weekend.

According to DraftKings Sportsbook, the home teams both open as favorites in the Conference Championship games this coming weekend. The Kansas City Chiefs open as 7 point favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals. The Moneyline odds are Kansas City Chiefs -310/ Cincinnati Bengals +245.

The Over/Under for the game is a whopping 54.

The Los Angeles Rams open as 3.5 point favorites over the San Francisco 49ers. The Moneyline odds are Los Angeles Rams -170/ San Francisco 49ers +150.

The Over/Under for the game is 46.5.

The favorites have earned that distinction, but recent history suggests they’ll be in for a fight.

After watching the Chiefs dismantle the best defense in the NFL and win 11 of their last 12 games, it’s difficult to say the Chiefs shouldn’t be heavily favored against a Bengals team that struggles to defend against the pass. However, that one loss by the Chiefs in their epic 12 game run? Yeah, that came against the Bengals just three weeks ago, so I don’t think we can completely rule out a Bengals upset here.

As for the Rams, their status as favorites against the 49ers stands on shakier ground. The Rams had the better record this year, and they beat the defending Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers to get here. However, the 49ers did them one better, knocking off the #1 seed Green Bay Packers to get into the Conference Championships. And there is the matter of the history between these two teams. The last time they met, just three weeks ago, the 49ers came out on top. Moreover, not only did the 49ers sweep the Rams this season, they have won the last six straight meetings between these two teams. The 49ers just seem to have the Rams’ number. So should the Rams be favored here? You tell me.

What do you think? Which teams should be the favorites this week?