Kansas City Once Again Favored in AFC Championship Game

Plus, DFS advice, NBA awards odds and NFL coaching news.

The Super Bowl LVII teams will be set this weekend.

The playoff field is down to just four teams—Eagles, Bengals, Chiefs and 49ers—each of which has advanced to the Super Bowl in the last five years, but only Kansas City has won it all during that stretch.

Read up on the conference championship matchups ahead of Sunday’s showdowns.

In today’s Winners Club, you’ll find:

Top-Seeded Eagles, Chiefs Both Narrow Home Favorites

The spreads in both conference championship games are tighter than a field goal, though there was some line movement for the Bengals-Chiefs game this week.

Kansas City opened as a favorite, then the spread flipped in favor of Cincinnati due to concern regarding the status of Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a high ankle sprain in the divisional round. After Mahomes logged full practices Wednesday and Thursday, the Chiefs regained their status as favorites for Sunday night’s game at Arrowhead Stadium.

Before getting into each game breakdown, check out the SI Betting staff picks and Michael Fabiano’s player props to target this weekend.

NFC Championship Game

3 p.m. ET (Fox): 49ers vs. Eagles (-2.5) | Total: 46.5
SF-PHI Betting Preview and Pick | Player Prop Bets

“Nick Sirianni’s team has lost only five games since Week 10 of last season—and only two of those losses were in games started by quarterback Jalen Hurts. Kyle Shanahan’s team made it to the NFC championship game last year with Jimmy Garoppolo but is now starting an unheralded rookie quarterback in Brock Purdy, who is undefeated since taking over the starting job in Week 13.” — Jen Piacenti

AFC Championship Game

6:30 p.m. ET (CBS): Bengals vs. Chiefs (-2.5) | Total: 47.5
CIN-KC Betting Preview and Pick | Player Prop Bets

“The Bengals and Chiefs will face off in the AFC championship game for the second straight year. Last season, Cincinnati upset Kansas City, 27-24, as seven-point road favorites, cashing for bettors on the moneyline at +255 odds. The question for bettors this time is: Can Mahomes play at an elite level despite the ankle injury?” — Frankie Taddeo

Super Bowl LVII Odds
Eagles: +225
Bengals: +250
Chiefs: +250
49ers: +300

Super Bowl MVP Odds
Jalen Hurts: +300
Joe Burrow: +325
Patrick Mahomes: +350
Brock Purdy: +550
Christian McCaffrey: +1400
Travis Kelce: +1600
Ja’Marr Chase: +2200
A.J. Brown: +3300
Deebo Samuel: +3300

Super Bowl Winning Conference
AFC: -143
NFC: +100

Daily Fantasy Picks for Conference Championships

With just four teams to choose from, you have to be wise about building your DFS lineups this weekend. Jen Piacenti has the playbook to help you do just that, complete with recommendations for players at each price point.

Find out which players are worth spending up for and which bargain buys could be worth a shot.

And be sure to use Fabiano and Shawn Childs’ weekly rankings, recommendations and projections for all your fantasy football needs.

Start ‘Em, Sit ‘Em | PPR Positional Rankings | Stat Projections

For the fantasy fanatics, Fabiano compiled a list of 101 fun facts from the 2022 season.

Did you know Joe Burrow finished fourth in fantasy points among quarterbacks, recording 40 total touchdowns and 350.7 points? He has now scored a combined 838.7 points, which ranks eighth among quarterbacks in their first three years in the league.

How about that three of the top 10 fantasy running backs (Josh Jacobs, Rhamondre Stevenson and Tony Pollard) were selected outside of the top 40 overall picks?

Get ready for next season with Fabiano’s fun facts.

LeBron Scoring Tracker and NBA Awards Odds

Kareem Abdul-Jabbar has held the NBA’s all-time scoring record for 38 years, but his hold on history is being threatened by LeBron James, who’s fast approaching the Lakers legend.

James is 158 points away from passing Abdul-Jabbar’s 38,387 career points, which means at his current scoring pace, he’s roughly five games away from moving into first place.

The expectation is that he breaks the record on Feb. 4 on the road against the Pelicans, which is the final game of the Lakers’ five-game road trip, which begins Saturday, but there are long odds for him to make history earlier or later than that Saturday night in New Orleans.

With the trade deadline fast approaching and All-Star weekend right around the corner, Elizabeth Swinton is checking in on the awards race for the league’s six prestigious individual awards.

Below you can find her top contenders for each award and that player or coach’s current odds to win at SI Sportsbook.

MVP
1. Nikola Jokić: -138
2. Luka Dončić: +400
3. Jayson Tatum: +750

Rookie of the Year
1. Paolo Banchero: -1205
2. Bennedict Mathurin: +750
3. Jaden Ivey: +5000

Defensive Player of the Year
1. Jaren Jackson Jr.: -200
2. Brook Lopez: +700
3. Nic Claxton: +750

Sixth Man of the Year
1. Russell Westbrook: -175
2. Malcolm Brogdon: +230
3. Jordan Poole: +1800

Most Improved Player
1. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander: +120
2. Lauri Markkanen: -137
3. Jalen Brunson: +1600

Coach of the Year
1. Joe Mazulla: +175
2. Jacque Vaughn: +400
3. Taylor Jenkins: +300

In Other News

NCAA Men’s March Madness Bracket Watch: Stay up to date with Kevin Sweeney’s projected Field of 68 to find out which programs are vying for No. 1 seeds and what upcoming games could shake things up.

Panthers Hire Frank Reich to be new Head Coach: The first coaching vacancy of the offseason was filled Thursday when Carolina announced that Reich, who was fired midseason by the Colts, would be its new coach.

Jets Name Nathaniel Hackett Offensive Coordinator: The former Broncos coach is replacing Mike LaFleur as the OC in New York. Hackett spent three seasons as the offensive coordinator for the Packers under Matt LaFleur before he took the Denver job.

Top Fantasy Landing Spots for Sean Payton: If the former Saints coach does return to the sidelines—even though it seems he may return to Fox—where would his presence make the biggest impact for fantasy players?

NBA Announces All-Star Game Starters: Giannis Antetokounmpo and LeBron James will captain the Eastern and Western conferences, respectively, in the All-Star Game next month. The reserves will be announced on Feb. 2.

Thanks for reading Winners Club! I’ll talk to you again next week.