NFL Odds Favor Home Teams in Playoffs Divisional Round, Saints Coach Motivates Players With Money

Posted on: January 12, 2019, 04:00h. 

Last updated on: January 11, 2019, 09:47h.

Devin O'Connor @CasinoorgDevinO Read More
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The NFL odds for this weekend’s Divisional Round favor all four home teams. The Kansas City Chiefs, Los Angeles Rams, New England Patriots, and New Orleans Saints are all expected to top their opponents and advance to the Conference Championships.

NFL odds Super Bowl Saints Drew Brees
Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints have the best NFL odds of winning the Super Bowl. (Image: Wesley Hitt/Getty)

The largest point spread is on the Saints, the team that is favored to win Super Bowl 53. New Orleans is spotting the Philadelphia Eagles, last year’s Super Bowl champs, eight points.

The Rams are giving the visiting Dallas Cowboys a touchdown. Kansas City is a 5.5-point favorite over the Indianapolis Colts, and oddsmakers believe the Patriots game against the Los Angeles Chargers will be the most competitive Divisional Round battle, with New England just a four-point favorite.

The Colts-Chiefs kick things off on Saturday at 4:35 pm ET. The nightcap is the Cowboys-Rams at 8:15 pm. The Chargers-Patriots play at 1:05 pm on Sunday, followed by the Eagles-Saints at 4:40 pm.

Underdog Motives

There’s plenty of reasons why one might want to an underdog or four this Saturday and Sunday. ESPN highlights that the Colts are 6-0 this year against the spread (ATS) in six games they’ve played against a team with a winning record.

The Cowboys have won all three of the games in which they were at least a seven-point dog. The Chargers have won their last five games as an underdog, and veteran quarterback Philip Rivers has only lost once ATS in the postseason as an underdog.

The Eagles have won six straight games as underdogs. They also seem to have fate on their side, as the “double doink” last-second field goal against the Chicago Bears saved their title defense.

Saints Big Favorite

Most so-called experts believe the Eagles’ storied run will come to an end on Sunday. The Saints destroyed the Eagles in the regular season 48-7.

Per website NFL Pick Watch, 94 percent of the analysts are taking New Orleans straight up over Philadelphia. Eighty-one percent are backing the Rams, 78 percent the Chiefs, and 63 percent the Patriots.

New Orleans has the shortest odds of the eight teams to win Super Bowl 53 next month. William Hill has the Saints at 9/4 (implied odds 30.77 percent). A $100 bet and Drew Brees winning his second Super Bowl nets $225.

Saints coach Sean Payton brought $225,000 in cash into the lock room this week and asked his players if they wanted it. If they win the Super Bowl, that’s how much each player would receive as a bonus.

If that don’t get you amped up, I don’t know what will,” Saints defensive tackle Sheldon Rankins told NFL.com. “We’re talking about the trophy and if you saw all that money, you’d get excited, too.”

After the Saints, the Chiefs and Rams have the next shortest Super Bowl odds at 4/1. The Patriots follow at 5/1, then it’s the Chargers (10/1), Colts (14/1), and Eagles and Cowboys the longest at 16/1.