AFC Path to Super Bowl 59: Odds Favor Chiefs
- The Kansas City Chiefs are nine-point favorites against Houston in the AFC playoffs.
- The Bills play host to the Ravens in what is a pick’em game.
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The top three teams in the final AFC power rankings are among the last four in contention to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl. It should make for quite the weekend in the AFC Divisional Round playoffs with the Houston Texans playing at Kansas City on Saturday and the Baltimore Ravens meeting up with the Buffalo Bills on Sunday.
The Chiefs are the No. 1 seed and own home-field advantage, but thanks to a win over Kansas City during the regular season, Buffalo held down the top spot in the AFC Super Bowl rankings. It could be decided on the field if both teams win this weekend.
Kansas City, Buffalo, Baltimore and Houston all won division titles and they are the last four teams alive in the AFC.
Kansas City is priced at +350 to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl for the fifth time in the last six seasons. Baltimore (+450) and Buffalo (+550) aren’t far behind while the Houston Texans are well back at +50000 in the AFC championship odds.
AFC Road to Super Bowl: Plenty of Star Power Remaining
The Cream Rises to the Top
Before the start of the season, Kansas City (+500) had the shortest odds of winning the Super Bowl. The Baltimore Ravens (+1000), Houston Texans (+1400) and the Buffalo Bills (+1600) were among the five AFC teams with the shortest championship odds so things went pretty much according to plan.
The lone AFC team in the top five that is not in contention for a run to the Super Bowl is Cincinnati as the Bengals failed to make the playoffs.
There hasn’t been much drama so far in the AFC playoffs with Buffalo winning 31-7, Baltimore doubling up division rival Pittsburgh 28-14 and Houston defying the sports betting odds as a home underdog with an impressive win over the Los Angeles Chargers.
The playoffs bring out the best in us. pic.twitter.com/cFmJ9sHQt9
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) January 14, 2025
Nothing happened that will result in a change at the top of the AFC power rankings with Buffalo leading the way followed by Kansas City and Baltimore. Obviously, Houston isn’t staying at No. 6 with the Chargers and the Steelers both eliminated from the playoffs.
When looking at the NFL futures odds, Kansas City has +130 odds of winning the AFC title followed by Baltimore (+220) and Buffalo (+235). Houston’s +1800 odds to reach the Super Bowl for the first time could be tempting.
Bet This Pick: Kansas City Chiefs to Win the Super Bowl (+275)
MVP Front-Runners Ready To Rumble
Perhaps Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley will have something to say about this, but it seems likely that quarterbacks Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills and Lamar Jackson will headline NFL news by finishing first and second in the NFL MVP voting.
Ravens have 6 All-Pros while the Bills only have 1 😳 pic.twitter.com/Xe35mygPYf
— NFL on CBS 🏈 (@NFLonCBS) January 14, 2025
The last time the top two vote-getters in The Associated Press NFL Most Valuable Player race squared off in the playoffs in the same season was two years ago in Super Bowl LVII, when Patrick Mahomes led the Kansas City Chiefs to a 38-35 win over Jalen Hurts of the Philadelphia Eagles.
The last time such a meeting took place before the Super Bowl was in 2016 when MVP Cam Newton led the Carolina Panthers to a 49-15 win over the Arizona Cardinals in the NFL Championship Game. Arizona quarterback Carson Palmer finished tied with Tom Brady of the New England Patriots with one vote each while Newton received 48 of the 50 votes for MVP.
The NFL betting lines have the Ravens-Bills game as a Pick’em with the total set at 51.
Bet This Pick: Buffalo Bills to Win the Super Bowl (+500)
Chiefs Chasing History
Kansas City is three wins away from not only matching the longest NFL postseason winning streak currently held by the New England Patriots from 2001-05, but also making history by becoming the first team to win three consecutive Super Bowls.
Per NFL betting trends, the Chiefs have won seven consecutive playoff games since losing to the Cincinnati Bengals in the 2022 AFC Championship Game.
The BetUS sportsbook lists the Chiefs as a nine-point favorite against the visiting Houston Texans on Saturday.
The quarterback matchup between Mahomes and C.J. Stroud of the Houston Texans won’t garner as much attention as the one between Jackson and Allen but it should be noted that before the season started, Mahomes and Stroud had the shortest NFL odds to throw at least 30 touchdown passes.
Questions of the Day
What happened the last time a team went for its third consecutive Super Bowl title?
The 2005 New England Patriots lost to the Denver Broncos 27-13 in an AFC Divisional game.
How many head coaches of teams still alive in the AFC playoffs have won a Super Bowl as a head coach?
Two. Kansas City’s Andy Reid and Baltimore’s John Harbaugh each have won Super Bowls with their current team.
Odds and information are accurate at the time of writing. Please check with official sources for the latest updates before placing any bets.
