We are down to six teams in the NFC playoff bracket as the NFL moves to the playoffs. The four wild card games will take place on Saturday and Sunday, with the NFC contests set for Sunday. Minnesota will visit New Orleans in the early Sunday slot, followed by Seattle heading to Philadelphia later that afternoon. San Francisco and Green Bay hold byes and await the result of the wild card games to find out their opponents in the divisional rounds. We have the sports betting odds for the six NFC Championship contenders as well as thoughts for each one’s likelihood of making it to Super Bowl LIV.
Updated 2020 NFC Championship Odds – January 3rd Edition
As voted on by SNF fans…
— SNF on NBC (@SNFonNBC) December 31, 2019
The best AFC and NFC Championship teams of the decade! pic.twitter.com/1tpkrPCoja
- San Francisco 49ers +135
- New Orleans Saints +260
- Green Bay Packers +330
- Seattle Seahawks +1300
- Philadelphia Eagles +1500
- Minnesota Vikings +1900
The San Francisco 49ers have the most impressive road performances of the teams on this list. They went to New Orleans and beat the Saints on a last-second field goal; they went to Baltimore and narrowly lost in wet conditions. The defense is elite, and the offense can be hard to stop. Jimmy Garoppolo is not the best quarterback in this bracket by a mile, but with such weapons as tight end George Kittle available, he can move the ball down the field. Getting the bye allows the team to heal from injuries, particularly on the defensive side of the ball.
The New Orleans Saints won the NFC South despite having to play several games without starting quarterback Drew Brees. Their offense is steamrolling the opposition heading into the playoffs, as they have won their last three games by an average of 23 points, including a 32-point shellacking of Carolina in Week 17 with Brees watching from the sidelines. The New Orleans defense is the real deal this year, and their special teams unit is one of the top squads in the NFL. At this point, the Saints are my pick to emerge from the NFC.
The Green Bay Packers slugged their way to a 13-3 record, but the vast majority of their wins have been ugly. There have been games when Aaron Rodgers couldn’t throw the ball into the ocean, but tailback Aaron Jones saved the team with a big day on the ground — and there have been days when Jones was invisible but Rodgers made huge passes down the field. Matt LaFleur has wrung the most out of his roster this year, testament to his skill as a new head coach. Will they keep picking up late wins? Or will a team with a much more loaded roster bring the Packers’ season to an end in the divisional round? It’s hard to tell at this point.
The Seattle Seahawks are skidding into the playoffs, losers of two in a row and three of four. However, the combination of Russell Wilson at quarterback and Pete Carroll at head coach makes this team a dangerous combination in any context. Despite the many injuries on the Seattle roster, they were on the brink of a victory against San Francisco in Week 17. Thsoe intangibles won’t be enough against the Philadelphia Eagles, though.
The Minnesota Vikings only have one win over a playoff team this season — the Philadelphia Eagles. They do have a solid front seven, and Dalvin Cook’s return means they will be able to run the ball. However, quarterback Kirk Cousins is one of the worst signal callers in the league when he is under pressure, and in the first round, you can expect the Saints to dial up blitz after blitz.
The Philadelphia Eagles may have more key injuries than any of the other NFC contenders, but they won four in a row to get here with lots of players on the shelf. The Eagles can stop the run, and they can pound the ball on the ground. However, their pass defense is porous at times, and Carson Wentz has a hard time throwing the ball down the filed accurately. So while the Eagles should get by Seattle, that will be it.
