It’s been less than 48 hours since the NFL conference championship game odds hit the betting boards across the country. And in that short space of time, a solid consensus opinion has formed within the betting community.
That opinion: We’re headed to a matchup between the Eagles and Bengals in Super Bowl LVII.
Here’s a look at all the NFL Conference Championship Game first-rate moves and betting action for Sunday’s 49ers vs. Eagles and Bengals vs. Chiefs showdown.
Odds updated as of 3:15 PM ET January 24.
Type of bet
BetMGM
Caesar sports betting
FanDuel
Point spread
Eagles -2.5 (-115)/49ers +2.5 (-105)
Eagles -2.5 (-115)/49ers +2.5 (-105)
Eagles -2.5 (-115)/49ers +2.5 (-105)
Money line
Eagles -150/49ers +125
Eagles -145/49ers +122
Eagles -142/49ers +120
Total
46 points
46 points
46.5 points
The Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers have been on a collision course for the NFC championship for months.
In fact, you can probably count on one hand and could be one foot: the number of NFL bettors who truly believed the Eagles (15-3) and 49ers (15-4) wouldn’t end up battling it out for a spot in next month’s Super Bowl.
Now that the inevitable has happened though, we have seen an interesting twist in the betting market.
A week ago, future odds for the Super Bowl and conference championship suggested that Philadelphia and San Francisco were essentially evenly matched. And if there’s been a downturn in the market, it’s been in the direction of the 49ers, who are riding an NFL-best 12-game hitting streak.
Indeed, after trailing the Eagles all season, San Francisco moved on from Philadelphia last week, albeit just barely, with a chance to win the Super Bowl in major sports betting.
However, after the Eagles beat the New York Giants 38-7 on Saturday night and the 49ers outscored Dallas 19-12 about 24 hours later, Philadelphia became the betting favorite in the NFC Championship Game.
Most stores have the host Eagles open anywhere from -1.5 to -2. But after being deluged with Philly money, those stores quickly dropped to -2.5.
This remains the consensus point spread, although several sports bets jumped as far as Philadelphia -3 (-105) on Monday before falling back to -2.5 (-115).
One of the books that briefly showed Eagles -3 was BetMGM. And understandably so.
Since Philadelphia’s opener as a 2-point favorite last Sunday, the vast majority of BetMGM’s point-spreading action has been on the home team. As of early Tuesday afternoon, BetMGM reported that 77% of all bets placed and a whopping 87% of all dollars raised were on the Eagles.
Meanwhile, the money line’s opening price ranged from sportsbook to sportsbook, but was generally in the Philadelphia range of -140 to -150, with San Francisco reaching between +115 and +125 odds of winning by title. definitive.
At BetMGM, the moneyline opened Eagles -140/49ers +115 and is now Eagles -150/49ers +125. The action is split, though, with 59% of the moneyline tickets going to San Francisco but 66% of the bucks going to Philadelphia.
The total has mostly rebounded between 45.5 and 46 early on. The consensus is now 46, with FanDuel topping at 46.5.
As for the action on the total, BetMGM reported on Tuesday that 66% of bets and 75% of money taken were on the Unders.
Type of bet
BetMGM
Caesar sports betting
FanDuel
Point spread
Bengali -2.5/Capi +2.5
Bengali -2.5/Capi +2.5
Bengali -2.5/Capi +2.5
Money line
Bengali -135/Capi +115
Bengali -140/Capi +118
Bengali -134/Capi +114
Total
46.5 points
46.5 points
46.5 points (over -115/under -105)
While the spread of points for the NFC Championship Game was about as constant as a carousel, the AFC Championship Game number went on a wild, high-speed roller coaster ride, with no safety harness.
As the Bengals were putting the finishing touches on their 27-10 win against the Bills in Buffalo Sunday afternoon — thus setting up a second straight AFC Cincinnati-Kansas City title game — several books opened the Chiefs as a 3-time home favorite points .
That number disappeared in an instant, as both public and keen bettors pounced on underdog Cincinnati. Their reasoning: The uncertain status of Kansas City star quarterback Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a serious ankle injury in his team’s 27-20 divisional round win against Jacksonville.
With the arrival of Bengali money, the spread of points not only declined, but some shops briefly switched to Cincy as a 1st point favorite.
Kansas City was back in the driver’s seat on Sunday night and Monday morning with a point spread as the consensus favorite of 1.5 points.
That number then went from Chiefs -1.5 to Chiefs -1 for several hours before once again jumping the fence – first to Bengals -1, then Bengals -1.5.
Now? Cincinnati — who went to Kansas City a year ago and beat a healthy Mahomes 27-24 to earn the franchise’s third-place Super Bowl — sits a consensus 2.5-point road favorite.
This is the number that customers can find on BetMGM, Caesars Sportsbook and FanDuel.
In regards to point spread action on BetMGM, 78% of all bets and 81% of all dollars favored the Bengals by noon Tuesday.
Like the spread, the Cincinnati-Kansas City money line has been everywhere. Currently ranges from high Bengals -140 (Chiefs +118) to low Bengals -130 (Chiefs +110).
BetMGM – which opened KC -140/Cincinnati +120 and is now in Cincinnati -135/KC +115 – reports that 78% of the moneyline bets and 77% of the money is on the visitors.
As for the AFC Championship Game total, the number dropped from an initial consensus of 47.5 to the current consensus of 46.5, primarily due to concerns about Mahomes’ health.
BetMGM opened up at 48.5 but has since lost 2.5 points. However, while 67% of BetMGM’s tickets are on the Overs, 58% of the money sides with the Unders.
The Inquirer is not an online gambling operator or gambling site. We provide this information about sports betting for entertainment purposes only.
