Tom Brady
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports
Home » Blog » NFL Playoffs: Patriots Favored Over Chiefs In AFC Divisional Round

NFL Playoffs: Patriots Favored Over Chiefs In AFC Divisional Round

Ryan Ward News NFL
Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

Steve Mitchell-USA TODAY Sports

The New England Patriots will get their Super Bowl title defense underway in the NFL playoffs on Saturday with the defending champions hosting the Kansas City Chiefs at Gillette Stadium. Although the Arizona Cardinals are currently favored to win Super Bowl 50 at 18/5 (via Sportsbook.ag), the Patriots are always a threat to go the distance. New England is expected to be the AFC representative in Santa Clara on Feb. 7 with 4/1 odds to win it all for a second straight year.

New England may have their sights set on another Lombardi Trophy, but they’ll have an excellent Chiefs squad standing in their way. Kansas City is the hottest team in the NFL right now with Alex Smith and company having won 11 straight games. The Chiefs got off to a rough start this season losing five of their first six games but rebounded with a vengeance and now have a legitimate shot to beat the defending champions on Saturday.

According to Sportsbook.ag, the Chiefs are underdogs against the defending Super Bowl champions. Of all the spreads from the four games set to be played this weekend, only the matchup between the Seattle Seahawks and Carolina Panthers (-2) has a lower spread.

New England is only favored by -5 over Kansas City on Saturday. Tom Brady and company will face a tough challenge in a Chiefs team that no one has found an answer for since October when the Minnesota Vikings were the last team to beat Andy Reid’s squad.

The major question mark for the Patriots heading into this AFC playoff showdown is the health of tight end Rob Gronkowski. The All-Pro has been dealing with a knee injury as of late with the veteran requiring an injection in his right knee on Thursday.

Regardless of Gronkowski’s status, the Patriots will likely snap the Chiefs’ win streak on Saturday. New England is as tough a team to beat in the playoffs, and that probably won’t change this time around. This game will be close, though. Taking Kansas City at +5 might be the way to go.

  • 100%