If Las Vegas and oddsmaker Bovada is right, then the AFC Championship will come down to a match between the New England Patriots and either the Kansas City Chiefs or Pittsburgh Steelers.
The Patriots have the best odds of winning the AFC (1/2; 66%), while the Steelers (4/1; 20%) and Chiefs (9/2; 18%) rank second and third. The Oakland Raiders (28/1), Houston Texans (33/1), and Miami Dolphins (33/1) are extreme long shots. Yes, I know that adds up to more than 100%.
Fortunately for the Patriots, neither the Chiefs, nor the Steelers can face them until the conference championship game. As the #2 and #3 seeds, the Chiefs and Steelers will have to play one another in the divisional round, assuming the Steelers defeat the Dolphins during wild card weekend.
The NFC is a different animal with five of the six teams receiving reasonable odds to win the conference. The Dallas Cowboys (3/2; 40%), Atlanta Falcons (7/2; 22%), Green Bay Packers (7/2; 22%), Seattle Seahawks (11/2; 15%), and New York Giants (8/1; 11%) are all contenders. The Detroit Lions (33/1) aren’t given much of a chance.
As a result, the Patriots have the best odds of winning the Super Bowl (19/10; 34%), followed by the Cowboys (4/1; 20%), Packers (7/1; 13%), Steelers (8/1; 11%), Falcons (9/1; 10%), and Chiefs (9/1; 10%). The Seahawks (14/1; 7%) and the Giants (16/1; 6%) are the outsiders, while the Lions, Texans, Dolphins, and Raiders are longshots (66/1).
Thanks to the Patriots, Steelers, and Chiefs, the AFC is currently projected to be the 3-point favorite in the Super Bowl.