NFL Playoff Betting Preview: Chiefs, Lions, Bills, and Ravens

The Kansas City Chiefs had a cover problem during the regular season, but it might not matter heading into the playoffs. The Chiefs are nine-point favorites against the visiting Houston Texans to kick off the NFL divisional round, a fascinating number given that KC has not covered a spread this large all season. The sportsbook reported 68.2% of money backing KC's spread compared to 57.3% of the tickets, with other major books similarly reporting positive handle splits supporting the Chiefs. FanDuel's trading team says that the early action had been "surprisingly" more split than expected, but the book will still "be cheering for the Texans."

The other juggernaut

At ESPN BET, the Chiefs' moneyline represents the second-most selected bet in parlays, behind the Detroit Lions' moneyline. On Saturday night, Detroit begins its quest to bring home the franchise's elusive first Super Bowl with a showdown against the red-hot Washington Commanders. As of Saturday morning, the Lions are 8.5-point favorites at ESPN BET and have been getting plenty of support from the betting public market-wide. Between the explosive offenses and Detroit's banged-up defense, sportsbooks and bettors alike are expecting fireworks, as the game's 55.5-point over/under -- up from 54.5 at open -- is the highest total in any playoff game since Super Bowl LV (2020) between the Chiefs and Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Bettors fade Ohio State as CFP title game spread moves toward Notre Dame

The line on the College Football Playoff National Championship game dropped early this week, with sportsbooks reporting sharp money on underdog Notre Dame. On Jan. 10, Ohio State opened as a consensus 9.5-point favorite over the Fighting Irish in one of the largest spreads in a championship game during the BCS/CFP era. Some bettors thought the line was too big and came in early on Notre Dame, causing sportsbooks to drop the line to Ohio State -8.

Bills open as favorites over Ravens in battle of 'best two teams in NFL'

Only three NFL playoff games in the Super Bowl era closed with a line of pick 'em in ESPN's database. Next week's divisional round game in Buffalo has a chance to be the fourth. The Buffalo Bills began the week as 1-point home favorites over the Baltimore Ravens, but there has been plenty of volatility. The Bills opened as high as -2, but the line dropped to as low as pick 'em, before settling back at -1 on Sunday night. On Monday morning, the line moved to Ravens -1 at ESPN BET, but other books still have the Bills as the favorite.