Here’s what the Vegas odds say about the Chiefs-Browns playoff game Sunday
The Chiefs finished the regular season with the NFL’s best record, despite not winning a game by more than six points over the final nine weeks.
And yet ...
The Chiefs are favored by double digits in a playoff game. Go figure. They’re favored by 10 points over the visiting Browns in the AFC Divisional Round, scheduled for 2:05 p.m. Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium. The line has held steady at that number throughout the week.
That keeps alive a streak in which the Chiefs have been favored by 10-plus in every home game this season in which quarterback Patrick Mahomes has started. (They were underdogs in Week 17 against the Chargers but were resting their starters.)
So the Las Vegas oddsmakers like the Chiefs to win and win big. And they also like a shootout. The over/under for the game is 57 points, by far the highest of any of this weekend’s four playoff games.
It seems like a high number ... until you look at the reasons for it. The Browns beat the Steelers 48-37 in the Wild Card Round (85 total points). They are 10-7 this season in reaching the over, with five of their last seven games clearing the mark. The Chiefs are 8-8 after three of their final four games hit the over.
The Chiefs were 7-9 against the spread in the regular season, while the Browns were one of the league’s worst teams in the category at 6-10. They were, however, an underdog in Pittsburgh last week.
As they are this week.
And in the entire postseason.
The Chiefs remain the favorite to win Super Bowl LV, still listed at 2-to-1 on the sheet. The Browns are last on the list at 25-to-1. The Packers (4-1), Saints (5-1), Bills (6-1), Ravens (8-1), Buccaneers (9-1) and Rams (15-1) round out the remaining playoff field.
This story was originally published January 15, 2021 at 10:51 AM with the headline "Here’s what the Vegas odds say about the Chiefs-Browns playoff game Sunday."