The NFL’s Divisional Round was full of upsets.
There has never quite been an NFL playoff weekend like the just-completed Divisional Round as all four games ended on a walk-off score – with road underdogs winning the first three. It was the first postseason round in NFL history with four games featuring a game-winning score on the final play.
While all the games were thrilling, the Kansas City Chiefs’ incredible 42-36 overtime victory over the visiting Buffalo Bills will go on any short-list of greatest games in football history. Starting with a Josh Allen 27-yard touchdown pass to Gabriel Davis on fourth-and-13 with 1:54 remaining, a whopping 25 points were scored in the final two minutes of regulation. Those were the second-most points in the last two minutes of regulation of any game (regular season or postseason) in the Super Bowl era.
Buffalo lost the coin toss and Kansas City scored a touchdown on the first possession of overtime to win it. Expect the NFL to change playoff overtime rules going forward so each team is guaranteed at least one possession, but that’s a story for another day.
The new favored exact result in Super Bowl 56 is Kansas City beating the Los Angeles Rams at +250.
Rams Won’t Have To Leave Home
Until last season, no team had ever played in a Super Bowl in its home stadium. Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Bucs won it at Raymond James Stadium, but their repeat hopes were dashed by the Rams on Sunday in a 30-27 victory. SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles, home of the Rams and Chargers, will host Super Bowl 56.
The Rams blew a 27-3 lead but won it on a Matt Gay 30-yard field goal as time expired. Los Angeles had four lost fumbles vs. Tampa Bay, becoming the first team to win a playoff game after losing four or more fumbles since the 1975 Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship against the Oakland Raiders. Those Steelers would win the Super Bowl. The Rams are +210 second-favorites to do so behind Kansas City (+130). Rams over Chiefs is also the second-favorite on the exact matchup at +310.
Los Angeles hosts San Francisco in the NFC Championship Game and the Niners won both games vs. L.A. this season and six straight overall in the series. They were 13-10 upset winners at previous NFC favorite and top-seeded Green Bay on Saturday in the snow. This will be the first time since the 2009 season that neither Brady nor Packers QB Aaron Rodgers will be in the conference championship games. San Francisco is a +400 third-favorite to win the Super Bowl.
The long-shot exact outcome in the Super Bowl is Cincinnati over San Francisco at +1800 with the Bengals as +800 long shots as they visit the Chiefs on Sunday. Kansas City is the first team in history to host four straight AFC title games and is 2-1 in the previous three. The Bengals did beat the Chiefs 34-31 in Cincinnati in Week 17.
When the postseason kicked off, the NFC was an early 2.5-point favorite in the Super Bowl over the AFC with a total of 52.5 points. Now the AFC is -2.5 and the total is 51.5. Kansas City didn’t face either the Rams or 49ers this season. Cincinnati didn’t face the Rams, either, but lost at home to the 49ers 26-23 in OT in Week 14.
On the lookahead Super Bowl 56 lines, the Chiefs are -2.5 vs. the 49ers and -1.5 vs. the Rams; the Bengals are +3.5 vs. the Rams and +1.5 vs. the 49ers.
