The New Orleans Saints (14-3) made their only Super Bowl appearance nine years ago en route to winning their first Vince Lombardi Trophy. It has been much longer for the Kansas City Chiefs (13-4), who have not advanced this far in the playoffs in the previous 24 seasons and last made it to the big game 49 years ago.
The Saints and Chiefs have squared off just twice over the past decade but are favored to meet again on February 3 in Atlanta on the NFL odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
New Orleans will kick off Championship Sunday by hosting the Los Angeles Rams (14-3) as a 3.5-point home favorite at NFL betting sites for the NFC title in a rematch from Week 9 of the regular season. The Saints won that first meeting 45-35 despite closing as two-point home underdogs, with quarterback Drew Brees throwing for 346 yards and four touchdowns.
Los Angeles has struggled in the last three road matchups with New Orleans, going 0-3 straight up and against the spread and losing by an average of 18.7 points. However, the Rams have performed well away from home overall recently, winning nine of their last 11 road games SU.
The Saints, the favorites on the Super Bowl odds heading into the weekend, have one of the best home-field advantages in the league though, going 9-0 SU in their last nine games versus teams with winning records at the Superdome. They are also 7-0 SU in their previous seven postseason games there dating back to 2000.
In the AFC Championship Game, Kansas City will host the New England Patriots (12-5) as a three-point home favorite at sports betting sites with the temperature expected to be in the teens at Arrowhead Stadium. The Chiefs fell 43-40 to the Patriots at Gillette Stadium in Week 6 but covered the spread as 3.5-point road underdogs on Sunday Night Football.
This will be another rematch where home field could definitely be the difference. New England has not been nearly as good on the road this season, going 3-5 SU and ATS, with all of the losses coming against non-playoff teams. Kansas City is 8-1 SU in its last nine games as a home favorite and has gone 3-1 ATS in the last four of this series.
