The Atlanta Falcons will be looking to avoid a third straight loss in an NFC Championship Game when they take on the visiting Green Bay Packers this weekend as four-point home favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Atlanta finished the regular season atop the NFC South with an 11-5 record, and rides a five-game straight-up (SU) win streak into Sunday afternoon’s matchup at the Georgia Dome.
But last week’s 36-20 victory over the Seattle Seahawks as 6.5-point chalk marked just the second SU victory in the Falcons’ past seven post-season contests, including outright losses in their last two NFC Championship Game appearances.
Meanwhile, with last week’s 34-31 victory over the Dallas Cowboys as five-point road underdogs the Packers have won eight straight games, marking their longest SU winning streak since 2011.
Green Bay has averaged 32.1 points per game during its current surge, with pivot Aaron Rodgers leading the attack with 14 touchdown passes over his last four outings. The Packers are also unbeaten SU their last four road dates, and have averaged 35 points per game over their past three visits to Atlanta while going 2-1 SU and 3-0 against the spread (ATS).
Over in the AFC Championship Game, the New England Patriots will be gunning for a fifth straight victory by a double-digit margin when they host the Pittsburgh Steelers as 5.5-point home favourites.
The Patriots have been dominant during their current 8-0 SU run, tallying 30 or more points on five occasions, and limiting opponents to nine points per game over their past four games. That has bolstered New England’s position atop the Super Bowl 51 odds, where they sit as the +150 favourites.
The Patriots have also been given a 34.8 per cent chance to win Super Bowl 51 at online prediction website PredictionMachine.com, tops in the field for the four remaining teams in the playoffs.
But New England’s edge in Sunday afternoon’s matchup at Gillette Stadium also marks its narrowest point spread at home this season with Tom Brady under centre, after being the favourite by an average of more than 11 points in its previous six home dates.
The Steelers are road underdogs for a second straight week after topping the Kansas City Chiefs 18-16 last week. Pittsburgh has enjoyed success in recent years as a road underdog, winning outright in six of its last 11, going unbeaten against the spread in its past three.
The Steelers are also a reliable 8-2-1 ATS in their past 11 games as postseason road underdogs, and posted outright wins in three of their past four such outings. But Pittsburgh has dropped three straight to the Patriots, including a 27-16 defeat in October as a seven-point home underdog, and is 1-4 SU and 1-3-1 ATS in its past five trips to New England.
