NFL conference championship best bets: Chiefs start fast; 49ers hang with Rams

The NFL postseason is just one week away from giving us our Super Bowl matchup. Sunday features the Cincinnati Bengals visiting the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC Championship and the San Francisco 49ers heading south to play the Los Angeles Rams in the NFC Championship.

Betting analysts Doug Kezirian (17-32-2, 0-2 last week), Tyler Fulghum (25-33, 0-0), Joe Fortenbaugh (58-56-2, 1-4), Anita Marks (338-296, 14-10) and Erin Dolan (8-5, 1-0), fantasy and sports betting analyst Eric Moody (152-151, 3-1), ESPN Stats & Information’s Seth Walder (66-61, 2-3) and Mackenzie Kraemer (8-15, 0-0), sports betting deputy editor David Bearman (30-31-1, 0-0) and Football Outsiders’ Aaron Schatz (63-50-1, 0-3) will provide their top plays across the NFL landscape. (Records through the divisional round.)

Here are their best bets for Sunday’s conference championship games.

Note: Lines from Caesars Sportsbook as of Thursday (unless otherwise indicated).

Jump to: Bengals-Chiefs | 49ers-Rams

AFC Championship

(4) Cincinnati Bengals at (2) Kansas City Chiefs (-7, 54.5)

Walder: Ninety-nine times out of 100 if I’m picking a side I roll with FPI. It’s not that FPI has a strong take here, but if it had to pick a side it would take the Bengals. I’m going the other way. Last week’s game was indicative of why; Patrick Mahomes and the Chiefs threw up 42 on an elite defense, while Joe Burrow was sacked nine times by a mediocre Titans pass rush. It’s not a new problem! The Bengals’ offensive line and Burrow’s propensity to take sacks have been an issue all year. We should not mistake the Bengals being one of the four remaining teams with being one of the four best teams. Cincinnati ranked 14th and 10th in EPA per play on offense and defense, respectively. That’s good, but not great. I expect the Chiefs to win big.

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