2018 NFL Conference Championship Odds Analysis

The Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs is over, and the four teams remaining in the playoffs will play in their respective conference championship game this weekend.

The New England Patriots will host the Jacksonville Jaguars in the AFC, while the Philadelphia Eagles will host the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC.

AFC Championship Game Analysis

Jacksonville Jaguars vs New England Patriots

• When: January 21, 2018, 3:05 PM ET
• Where: Gillette Stadium
• Spread: Patriots -9.5
• Over/Under: 46.5

The Jaguars defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers in Divisional Round of the playoffs, giving them two road wins over the Steelers this season and the bragging rights of having defeated a legendary NFL team.

Jacksonville went into the game as big underdogs despite humiliating the Steelers in the first meeting, which served as motivation for the team, who felt disrespected because the Steelers were already looking ahead to a potential matchup with the Patriots.

Jacksonville will once again go in as big underdogs, with the money line for the game currently at +340, which is to say sportsbooks believe they have a 22.73% chance of winning.

They also didn’t get a lot of love with the point spread at +9. The over/under on total points scored in the game is set at 46.5, which might be a little low considering how many points they put up last week.

Can the Jaguars pull off another game that will topple an even greater football legend? They sure believe they can and they’ll kick off the game with that intensity. 

But, that’s when it’ll be settled. Once the battle begins, it’ll go as it’ll go.

The Patriots are the defending champions and they finished with the best record in the NFL, so it is understandable that they are the favorites to win this game. However, the money line of -480 might be fool’s gold.

Tom Brady has shown in the past that he can look very ordinary when a defense constantly harasses him and is now going up against one of the best pass rushing defenses in the NFL, which means the Jaguars have a better chance of winning than they are currently given.

The sportsbooks believe there’s around an 82.76% percent chance the Patriots will win the game, do you believe that to be accurate? Or is there a more realistic probability that it’s less likely for the Patriots to win given different circumstances?

The Jaguars might be bedazzled right now by all the hype and excitement, but either they crash and burn or they rise up to the occasion and keep on riding down the road to the Super Bowl.

Key Betting Trends For Jaguars vs Patriots

• Jacksonville is 7-18 SU in its last 25 games on the road
• Jacksonville is 2-5 ATS in its last 7 games when playing New England
• Jacksonville is 0-5 SU in its last 5 games when playing New England
• New England is 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games
• New England is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 9 of New England's last 13 games

NFC Championship Game Analysis

Minnesota Vikings vs Philadelphia Eagles

• When: January 21, 2018, 6:40 PM ET
• Where: Lincoln Financial Field
• Spread: Vikings -3
• Over/Under: 46.5

The Vikings defeated the New Orleans Saints in one of the craziest games of the year but will need to quickly put their emotions aside and turn their focus on the Eagles, who dominated the Atlanta Falcons in the Divisional Round.

The Vikings are favored to win this game on the road and their money line is currently -180. The point spread for the game is at -3.5, and the over/under for total points scored is 38.

The problem with the line is that the Vikings barely escaped with a win in their own stadium, and if Marcus Williams didn’t whiff on his attempt to tackle Stefon Diggs, they would be watching the conference finals from home instead of celebrating the win like these fans;

The fact is Minnesota may have to rely on its defense to win the game. It was the defense that prevented the future Hall of Famer Drew Brees-led Saints offense from tearing them apart.

Even if winning was one of those things that only happen once in more than a few blue moons, the defense will be charged with slowing down and disrupt the Eagles offense in order to give Case Keenum more time to execute their game plan.

The Eagles might not have Carson Wentz, but Nick Foles proved again this weekend that he is capable of leading the offense to victory.

The fact that the Eagles have a money line of +160 will serve as extra motivation for the team as they will be going into their second consecutive home playoff game as the underdogs.

The Eagles also have a very good defense that did a great job against Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons offense, so expect them to give Case Keenum and the Vikings offense some trouble in this game.

As with the Vikings, the Eagles will have to rely on their defense to keep Keenum from following a similar game plan from the Saints’ game.

The Eagles defensive unit cannot allow Keenum to connect in short-passing situations that move the chains and eat up the clock and also have to stop the Vikings running backs from establishing a steady ground game.

The biggest difference maker will be the home field advantage. With the Eagles in their first NFC Championship game since Donovan McNabb and Terrell Owens were still in Philadelphia, expect the crowd at Lincoln Financial Field to be very loud, which will also make it difficult for the Vikings offense.

Key Betting Trends For Vikings vs Eagles

• Minnesota is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 games
• Minnesota is 12-1 SU in its last 13 games
• The total has gone UNDER in 4 of Minnesota's last 6 games
• Philadelphia is 6-2 ATS in its last 8 games at home
• Philadelphia is 10-1 SU in its last 11 games at home
• The total has gone UNDER in 5 of Philadelphia's last 6 games at home

Now that you got NFL Conference Championship analysis, are you ready to take some action on the games?