Just eight teams remain in contention to be crowned Super Bowl champions for the 2024 season in the National Football League (NFL).
A quick look at the latest Super Bowl betting presents an extremely tricky puzzle for punters, with little to choose between the top five teams in the market.
However, odds of 33/10 for the Kandas City Chiefs to clinch the title for the third successive year is the value bet heading into the Divisional Round.
The Chiefs are overwhelming favorites to beat the Houston Texans having emerged victorious in each of their last four meetings.
Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has acknowledged that the Chiefs will not take their opponents lightly, especially on the defensive side of things.
The Texans boasted the league’s second-best defensive unit on a per-drive basis in yards, plays and time of possession during the regular season.
That record gives the Texans every chance of upsetting the odds against the Chiefs, and Mahomes recognises the challenge they present to his team.
“I think what everybody has kind of known,” Mahomes said. “That defence is extremely real – they have a great quarterback and a great coach.
“We knew when we played them this last time – it was a hard-fought game. They get after the quarterback really well.
“They have great secondary players and the linebackers fly around. It’ll be a great challenge for us, and we’ll have to play our best football.”
Having posted an impressive 15-2 record during the regular season, punters could be forgiven for wondering why the Chiefs are not much shorter in the outright betting.
Their plus-59 point differential ranked just 11th overall and was dwarfed by the season best plus-222 differential posted by the Detroit Lions.
The Lions have been widely tipped to be the NFC’s representatives in the Super Bowl, yet it would be foolish to think this is a foregone conclusion.
It is worth noting that they are 0-3 against the Washington Commanders in the play-offs, although each of those defeats were in road games.
Washington have not won in Detroit since 2008, and the Lions should have enough about them to progress to the NFC Championship decider.
Things will undoubtedly get trickier at that point, with the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams both capable of causing them plenty of problems.
The Eagles have been defeated just once since September, while the Rams have held four of their last five opponents to single-digits on the scoreboard.
Quarterbacks Jalen Hurts and Matthew Stafford are elite-level performers and could cause the Lions endless headaches if they produce their best form.
Whichever team makes it through will favore their chances of defeating the Lions and securing a coveted spot in the Super Bowl.
However, the feeling remains that the Chiefs are on their way to becoming the first team to win the NFL title in three consecutive seasons.
They have a useful knack of finding a way to win close games with Mahomes pulling the strings, which should stand them in good stead over the next few weeks.
Super Bowl LIX – Outright Betting
- Detroit Lions – 11/4
- Kansas City Chiefs – 33/10
- Philadelphia Eagles – 4/1
- Baltimore Ravens – 9/2
- Buffalo Bills – 11/2
- Los Angeles Rams – 15/1
- Washington Commanders – 30/1
- Houston Texans – 50/1