After recording yet another dominating win in playoff action in this past weekend’s AFC Championship Game, the Kansas City Chiefs have opened as slim 1.5-point favourites on the Super Bowl odds at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Kansas City disposed of the Tennessee Titans in decisive fashion, posting a 35-24 win as 7-point home chalk, and will now make its first Super Bowl appearance in 50 years in two weeks at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.
The Chiefs have endured slow starts in each of their two playoff games. They overcame an early 24-0 deficit in their AFC Divisional Round clash with Houston in epic fashion, rebounding to claim a 51-31 victory as 10-point favourites on the NFL odds, and fell behind by 10 points on two occasions in the first half of Sunday’s win before slamming the door on the Titans.
Overall, the Chiefs have now won and covered in eight straight contests, while claiming victory by an average margin of 16.1 points per game during that stretch. Quarterback Patrick Mahomes has emerged as the dominant force behind this team’s return to the Super Bowl. The 24-year-old has racked up 615 passing yards and eight touchdown throws, to go along with 106 rushing yards and one scoring run during Kansas City’s playoff run, and has been rewarded on the Super Bowl MVP odds, where he has rocketed to a short +125 favourite.
Kansas City has also held the edge in recent meetings with the 49ers, going 5-3 straight up and 6-2 against the spread in eight overall meetings since 1991. However, each of those victories has come on home turf, while the Chiefs sport an 0-5 SU record in their past five road dates with the Niners.
The 49ers are also most likely to hand the Chiefs the toughest challenge they have faced during their current 8-0 SU run, as they make their first Super Bowl appearance in seven years. San Francisco disposed of the Green Bay Packers with surprising ease in Sunday’s 37-20 victory as an 8-point favourite at online betting sites.
While the 49ers have averaged 31 points per game during their current four-game SU win streak, it is their stifling defence that is likely to be key to their success against Kansas City. San Francisco has surrendered 83 total rushing yards in this year’s playoffs.
Now poised to make their seventh trip to the Super Bowl in franchise history, the 49ers are seeking a record-tying sixth Lombardi trophy. They have raised the hardware on five previous occasions but fell short in their most recent bid, a 34-31 loss to the Baltimore Ravens in Super Bowl XLVII.
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