The top two seeds in each conference advanced from the divisional round, setting up what could be a dynamite conference championship weekend. The NFC had the more competitive games but three of the four favorites covered.
Beware of falling totals
The weekend opened with the Colts at Chiefs, which opened with the highest total of the quartet of games. Then the weather turned in KC, and as the snow fell, so did the total.
Social media tracked the drop as the total fell through the 50s. Bettors who didn’t already have tickets went towards the under, 53% at William Hill and 65% at BetStars. At Hill, the Colts got 79% of the spread bets to cover 4 as the underdog and 54% of the money line bets. The Chiefs finally broke their playoff drought and won 31-13, covering and delivering the under.
Bettors don’t love LA
Saturday night pitted the Cowboys, off a big win at home against Seattle, visiting the Rams. LA has been really inconsistent ATS this season, failing multiple times to cover double-digit spreads.
Despite creating some bad beats with their two-point win, 59% of the public money went on Dallas to cover the TD spread. While 51% of the tickets liked the over, 79% of the cash bet went for the under of 49. At BetStars, the over got 69% of the bets. The Rams won by 8 and hit the over with their 30-22 win.
Patriot games
New England has been one of the best bet and successful teams in the sports betting season. They’ve delivered in some major spots over the weeks. However, the bettors liked the hot team in LA entering Sunday afternoon’s contest at Foxboro.
Bettors were split over the total, with 80% taking the over at William Hill and 66% going for the under at BetStars. The public went heavy on the Chargers’ money line, taking 85% of the tickets and 55% of the cash. While the Pats got 51% of the spread money as the favorite, 61% of the tickets went to the underdogs. New England won, covered, and scored the over in a dominant win.
Saints keep marching
Philadelphia-New Orleans was the biggest match-up of the weekend, not just because local fans wanted to see if Nick Foles had another miracle up his sleeve. Over the season, the Saints and Eagles drew significant handle in their games. Together, they were the heaviest-bet game of the weekend at PlaySugarHouse, even more popular than the Clemson-Alabama national championship game on Monday.
Bettors favored the Saints on the spread to cover the 8 with 54% of the money, although the Eagles sold 58% of the tickets at William Hill. The over earned the highest share of the weekend at Hill (83%) and BetStars (74%). While the Eagles got off to a quick two-score lead, the Saints fought back to take over in the second half. However, neither team flashed their quick-strike offenses. A late missed field goal set up the Eagles to win late but a tipped pass became a sealing INT. The Saints survived, 20-14, allowing Philly to be the only visitors to cover on the weekend.