49ers Super Bowl odds shortening
The San Francisco 49ers now have the best odds to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl, while the Kansas City Chiefs are AFC favorites.
Brock Purdy finished with 348 yards and four total touchdowns
The Niners (+450) moved past the Philadelphia Eagles (+500), who were off for the week with a first-round bye. San Francisco went down 17-16 to the Seattle Seahawks in the first half but roared back in the second half, emerging with a decisive 41-23 victory. Rookie third-string quarterback Brock Purdy finished with 348 yards and four total touchdowns.
Sandwiched between the Chiefs (+300) and 49ers in the best odds to win the Super Bowl are the Buffalo Bills (+330), who are hosting the Cincinnati Bengals in what is expected to be the best matchup of the divisional round.
The rest of the NFC
The NFC belonged to the Eagles throughout the majority of the regular season. Their 14-3 record was the best in the conference, and they seemed unstoppable before quarterback Jalen Hurts’ injury.
Where Philly faltered, however, the Bay Area representatives did not. San Francisco is now on an 11-game winning streak across the regular and postseason and is winning by an average of 16.3 points during that stretch. Their elite blend of skill position players, shutout defense, and brilliant coaching has made them the team to beat in the NFC and one of the scariest outfits in the league, according to FanDuel.
in one playoff game, he tied Jimmy G’s career touchdown total
Purdy also deserves tremendous amounts of credit for the team’s success—they would have been a contender without him, but his production is already better than incumbent Jimmy Garoppolo’s ever was. In one playoff game, he tied Jimmy G’s career touchdown total (four in six games) and doubled up his passing average.
The Dallas Cowboys (+850) and New York Giants (+2500) are the two other teams still alive in the NFC. Ironically, that means three of the four teams left are from the same division, the NFC East, which was labeled one of the worst divisions in league history just last season.
Both squads are riding high from their Wild Card wins. The Giants took their show on the road and knocked off the 13-4 Minnesota Vikings, while the Cowboys eviscerated Tom Brady’s Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday Night Football.
The Eagles host the Giants and the 49ers host the Cowboys next weekend.
The AFC Super Bowl picture
Nothing has changed at the top of the AFC since the start of the playoffs. The Chiefs are still the favorites to win it all.
The Bills have crept up in Super Bowl odds despite playing far below their standard in a 34-31 win over the Miami Dolphins in the Wild Card round. Quarterback Josh Allen threw two interceptions and fumbled the ball three times as the Dolphins went on to easily cover a 13.5-point spread. That came despite rookie third string QB Skylar Thompson posting a pedestrian box score of 18/45, 220 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions.
The Bengals (+750) also barely scraped by their opening-round matchup, the Baltimore Ravens. The latter led 10-9 at halftime and was an inch away from punching in a quarterback sneak for a late go-ahead touchdown, except backup QB Tyler Huntley fumbled the ball and Cincy defensive end Sam Hubbard took it to the house for a 98-yard return touchdown. No other points were scored after that point.
rallied from a 27-0 deficit to win 31-30 on a walk-off field goal
The most theatrical moment in the Wild Card round was undoubtedly the Jacksonville Jaguars’ comeback win over the Los Angeles Chargers. They rallied from a 27-0 deficit to win 31-30 on a walk-off field goal as Trevor Lawrence shrugged off four early interceptions to finish with just as many touchdowns and lead the comeback.
The Jags’ run of destiny might be short-lived. They are still +3300 to win the Super Bowl and take on the Chiefs in Arrowhead Stadium as 8.5-point underdogs next weekend.
At the same time, they have won six straight, have a Super Bowl-winning head coach, and just pulled off the third-largest comeback in NFL playoff history. In other words, they are playing with house money.