NFL Conference Championship betting recap: Books, bettors have give-and-take day

In a season that’s seen the public betting masses do quite well and a divisional round in which the sportsbooks regained some ground, NFL conference championship odds had something for everyone.

Sunday’s two games featured a ton of scoring, which is always good for the betting public. But with both underdogs getting a lot of attention, having both favorites win and cover helped some bookmakers.

"We did well, considering the high scoring. I think we will find some bettors who also had a good day. I think both we and the bettors as a collective will sign for it," BetMGM senior trader Tristan Davis said.

Oddsmakers at sportsbooks across the country recap the weekend that was in NFL conference championship betting.

Hail To The Chiefs

In the AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs closed as either 1- or 1.5-point home favorites vs. the Buffalo Bills, depending on the sportsbook. Ostensibly, the bookmakers were saying all week that this was a coin-toss game, and it certainly played out that way.

The Chiefs got a field goal with 3:33 left to break a 29-29 tie, then forced the Bills to turn it over on downs, securing a 32-29 victory.

That was a mostly favorable result for The SuperBook.

"We did pretty well. We had good conference futures positions on both the Chiefs and the Eagles," SuperBook vice president John Murray said.

But the 61 combined points weren’t ideal behind the counter, on a total that closed at 49.5.

"There were a lot of parlays playing the Over in both games," Murray said, alluding to a scoring bonanza in the Washington Commanders vs. Philadelphia Eagles game, as well.

The Tourist Special

Although the Bills and Commanders were generally trendy road underdogs, there were pockets where that wasn’t the