Conference Championship Cheat Sheet

Michael Crosson Sports Betting Expert

3 minute read

The road to the Conference Championship ends this weekend two games between four teams looking to advance to Super Bowl 56 in Inglewood, California.

The Conference Championships are set for Sunday, January 30.

NFL CONFERENCE CHAMPIONSHIP SCHEDULE

• Sunday, Jan. 30 - Cincinnati Bengals at Kansas City Chiefs (CBS, 3:00 p.m.)
• Sunday, Jan. 30 - San Francisco 49ers at Los Angeles Rams (FOX, 6:30 p.m.)

MATCHUP - CINCINNATI BENGALS AT KANSAS CITY CHIEFS

• Date: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022
• Venue: GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium
• Location: Kansas City, Missouri
• TV-Time: CBS, 3:00 p.m. ET

OPENING LINE: CHIEFS -6.5, ML -310, O/U 51.5 (-110)

HEAD-TO-HEAD

These two teams squared off not long ago, playing January 2 in which the Bengals pulled off the upset victory with a 34-31 win. The victory was one of the current four-game ATS cover streaks for Cincinnati when playing as the underdog. The point total also went over the set 51, which was tied for the highest point total set for Cincinnati during the entire season.

BETTING NOTES

The Chiefs have now gone OVER the point total in seven straight games following the Buffalo shootout. Despite this and the point total going OVER in the last meeting, Cincinnati has acutally gone UNDER in three straight along with five of the alst seven games.

The Bengals have covered the spread in six straight games after winning in Tennessee. They are particualry good on the road, covering four straight as the visitor along with seven of their last eight. Kansas City has covered the spread in seven of nine games overall. As good as the road trends are for Cincinnati, the home trends are just as good for Kansas City - who has covered in five straight as the host along with seeing the home team cover eight of nine games.

MATCHUP - SAN FRANCISCO 49ERS AT LOS ANGELES RAMS

• Date: Sunday, Jan. 30, 2022
• Venue: SoFi Stadium
• Location: Inglewood, California
• TV-Time: FOX, 6:30 p.m. ET

OPENING LINE: RAMS -3.5, ML-170, O/U 46.5 (-110)

HEAD-TO-HEAD

San Francisco has no issues playing Los Angeles as the underdog, something the 49ers have already done twice this season. The results? San Francisco won the first meeting at a +3.5-point underdog at 31-10, while also winning on January 9 as a +3.5-point undersog at 27-24 in comeback fashion. The NFC Championship sees San Francisco open as a, you guessed it, +3.5-point underdog.

BETTING NOTES

The 49ers top betting trend to look at is the O/U market, going UNDER in six of its last seven games while the NFL Playoffs have seen numerous UNDERS cash already. Another top trend for San Francisco to consider is how often it covers the spread, particulary as the underdog. The Niners have covered four straight along with six of seven games, while also covering four straight as the dog.

The Rams have covered two straight after failing to cover two straight prior. Still, the Rams have covered six of eight games but have failed to cover in seven of 12 as chalk. Despite a solid 4-0 ATS record as the dog, the Rams are just 7-9 ATS as the favorite.

Where to place a bet this NFL Season?

• Use our exclusive BetMGM Bonus Code VIBONUS1500 to unlock BetMGM’s welcome offer for new sportsbook users!
• Compare the latest NFL Odds from the best sportsbooks before placing a bet on this week's games.
• Check out the North Carolina Sportsbooks just before they launch legal online sports betting.

Michael Crosson

Michael Crosson began his time at VegasInsider as a freelance NBA writer back in 2019 while he continued to study Psychology and Biology at James Madison University. Following his graduation in 2021, Michael joined the team full-time, and he's been with VI ever since. Michael still writes NBA, NFL, and MLB for VI, as well as gambling industry news. He's also become a crucial part of our editorial production team. More from Michael Crosson