Super Bowl 2021: Initial Vegas Odds with AFC, NFC Championship Games Set

Jeffrey Phelps/Associated Press

With the NFL playoff field winnowed down to four teams, the Kansas City Chiefs are the slim favorites in the eyes of oddsmakers.

The Chiefs have a slight edge on the Green Bay Packers at DraftKings Sportsbook.

Super Bowl LV Odds

Kansas City Chiefs (+200, bet $100 to win $200)

Green Bay Packers (+220)

Buffalo Bills (+325)

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+450)

No question will loom larger than the health of Patrick Mahomes. He left Sunday’s 22-17 win over the Cleveland Browns in the third quarter, and Kansas City confirmed he wouldn’t return after being evaluated for a concussion.

The Chiefs rank 22nd in defensive efficiency on Football Outsiders. That’s a concern but not a fatal flaw when Mahomes is available and giving opposing secondaries nightmares. Kansas City could be in trouble, though, if Chad Henne is forced to start against the Buffalo Bills.

Josh Allen has silenced his skeptics after having spent a lot of time in the offseason to work on his biggest issues. Buffalo won ugly in the divisional round against the Baltimore Ravens, but style points are even more useless in the postseason.

The Bills boast a strong aerial combo between Allen and Stefon Diggs, and they have a defense that tied for the third-most takeaways (26). Put the two together and you have a recipe for a potential upset.

So much of the AFC title game will hinge on Mahomes’ status.

In general, this year’s postseason is a great example of why you need an elite quarterback to truly be a title threat.

From a neutral perspective, it doesn’t get much better than Tom Brady vs. Aaron Rodgers.

Rodgers has played at an MVP-type level, leading the NFL in completion percentage (70.7) and touchdowns (48) while throwing for 4,299 yards. He also went 23-of-36 for 296 yards and two touchdowns as Green Bay dispatched of the Los Angeles Rams on Saturday.

Brady, meanwhile, finished with 4,633 yards and 40 touchdowns. Not surprisingly, playing with Mike Evans, Chris Godwin and Rob Gronkowski has allowed the 43-year-old to roll back the years.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers already have a head-to-head win over the Packers, beating them 38-10 in Week 6. They held the Green Bay offense to 201 total yards and intercepted Rodgers twice, one of which was returned for a score.

As great as it would be to see Brady and Rodgers going toe to toe and combining to throw for 600-plus yards, the NFC title game could be a defensive struggle when factoring in what could be unforgiving conditions at Lambeau Field.

According to AccuWeather, Sunday could see a high of 24 degrees with possible snow flurries. That would seem to favor the Packers, who averaged 132.4 rushing yards.

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