NFC Championship Odds to Win the 2024 Title: Lions vs 49ers

Updated Odds to Win the NFC Championship – Entering Divisional Round Games

With the Dallas Cowboys and the Philadelphia Eagles crashing out of the NFC Championship bracket in the first weekend of the playoffs, the path suddenly seems wide open for the San Francisco 49ers to roll all the way to Super Bowl LVIII in Las Vegas. The Eagles could only manage nine points in their wild-card round loss in Tampa Bay, and the Cowboys found themselves down 27-0 to the Green Bay Packers at home before waking up and deciding to mount something approximating maximum effort, only to lose, 48-32. This week, the 49ers take on the Packers, while the Buccaneers head to Detroit to take on the Lions. Can any of the other three teams realistically stop San Francisco? We have the updated NFL betting odds for each of the four NFC contenders to win the conference title along with some thoughts about each club’s chances.

Now that San Francisco heads into the playoffs with a healthy Brock Purdy and Christian McCaffrey, the offense looks ready to keep steamrolling through the opposition. Other than the 49ers’ head-scratching three-game skid around the midpoint of the season and their ugly home loss to Baltimore, the 49ers have largely scored at will. With a healthy Trent Williams anchoring the pass protection, Purdy should have time to pick apart both the Green Bay secondary this week and whichever defense advances to appear in the NFC Championship. On defense, the 49ers have an elite pass rush and quality coverage in the secondary.

Detroit barely survived a challenge from Los Angeles at home in the wild-card round; the offense looked productive in the first half and did just enough to stave off a comeback by the Rams after the intermission. The tailback tandem of David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs continued to pound the ball, and then when the Rams’ defense rose to the occasion, the Detroit defense continued to put clamps on the Rams, bending but not breaking and permitting a few field goals. Can they hold off Tampa Bay at home? Their pass rush should be able to harass Baker Mayfield enough to force a turnover or two, but it’s hard to say whether they will get past San Francisco in the conference championship with that porous secondary.

Tampa Bay got Baker Mayfield’s best performance in throwing the ball down th efield in their rout of Philadelphia at home. The Bucs’ defense continued its blitz-heavy ways, forcing Jalen Hurts to run for his life on multiple occasions. He was only able to manage one touchdown pass, and the defense also swarmed all over the running game. The Lions beat Tampa Bay earlier in the season, but Mayfield was not playing at this level, and the Bucs’ defense had not clicked yet.

Green Bay showed their ceiling against Dallas, with Jordan Love finding receivers all over the field thanks to blown coverage, and with Aaron Jones just gashing the soft center of the Cowboys’ defense on the ground. Remember, though, that the Packers’ defense allowed 510 yards of total offense to the Cowboys once Dallas figured out that there was a game going on. San Francisco is a team that starts strong and keeps rolling, which will challenge the Packers on both sides of the ball.

NFC Championship Odds before the Wild Card Games

It’s time for the 2023 NFL playoffs – which means that 12 of the 14 remaining contenders for the Vince Lombardi Trophy will face off this weekend in the wild-card postseason round. The Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers earned a week of rest by taking the top seed in each conference. The six games will take place starting Saturday afternoon and wrap up on Monday night. On the NFC Championship side, check out the NFL betting odds for each of the seven playoff teams to advance to Super Bowl LVIII. We also have some thoughts about each club for you to consider.

The San Francisco 49ers have already played three of the four possible teams they would face in the divisional round (Philadelphia, Tampa Bay, the Rams and Green Bay). They routed Tampa Bay and Philadelphia, and they split their season series with the Rams – with the loss coming in Week 18, when both sides were resting almost all of their skill players. Getting the bye lets the 49ers boost their health, and the last time they had a bye (Week 9), they responded with a six-game winning streak that featured a 20-point average margin of victory. The key seems to be which team scores first: in their 12 wins, the 49ers led at the half 11 times and were tied once. In games that they trailed at halftime, though, they are 0-3. The good news for 49ers fans is the number of other teams on this list that their team has already beaten convincingly.

The Dallas Cowboys just finished their third consecutive 12-5 season, and the collapse of the Philadelphia Eagles means the Cowboys have the 2-seed and home field against any NFC opponent other than San Francisco. The Cowboys start with the Green Bay Packers, who have won their last two playoff games against Dallas. The Cowboys are heavy favorites, though, because of that 8-0 home record. The team is scoring over 30 points per game at home this season, and the Packers have a secondary that will give up some big plays. After that, the Cowboys would either see the Rams, Eagles or Lions in the second round – all of which could present both opportunities and problems for a team that gets in its own way as least as often as it is stopped by opponents.

The Detroit Lions are hosting a playoff game for the first time in 30 seasons and appearing in the playoffs for the first time since 2016. They haven’t won a playoff game since 1991. Matthew Stafford returns to Detroit with the L.A. Rams to try and extend the Lions’ misery. Tight end Sam LaPorta is likely to miss the wild-card game, but the Lions still have Amon-Ra St. Brown and tailbacks David Montgomery and Jahmyr Gibbs. Watch out for a secondary that is vulnerable to being torched, though – and the Rams bring both Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua to Ford Field.

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are in the playoffs for the fourth year in a row. They open by hosting the Philadelphia Eagles, who won in Tampa in Week 3, 25-11. However, the Buccaneers have beaten the Eagles three times in their last five playoff meetings. Winning five of six down the stretch earned the Bucs an NFC South title. In their four-game winning streak that ran from Week 13 to 16, Baker Mayfield threw nine touchdown passes against just one interception, and the defense only permitted 18.8 points per game. That kind of energy will be needed in the playoffs.

The Philadelphia Eagles finished the season 1-5, but they still have one of the best O-lines in the NFL. Wide receivers DeVonta Smith and A.J. Brown both have injury issues, though, and the offense is plagued by pre-snap penalties and turnovers, but the Eagles have the talent to flip the switch and get things going in the right direction again. The defense has not responded to a change to Matt Patricia as the playcaller, struggling to stop teams on third down, in the passing game, in the rushing game, and in the red zone. They need to fix at least some of these issues to stop the Bucs – let alone advance on a deep run.

The L.A. Rams meet Detroit in the playoffs for the first time since 1952, when the Lions won by three in the divisional round. The Rams’ offense has picked up since the bye in Week 10, putting up 29.9 points per game over their last seven contests and scoring in bunches against such defenses as Cleveland, San Francisco and Baltimore. Tailback Kyren Williams provides some key balance on offense to force opponents to respect both the run and the pass.

The Green Bay Packers have a two-game winning streak going against Dallas in the playoffs. Jordan Love is a mobile quarterback who has a ton of young, speedy talents in Jayden Reed, Romeo Doubs, Christian Watson, and Dontayvion Wicks. The running game has two bruising backs in Aaron Jones and A.J. Dillon. The defense can be a dumpster fire – even the Carolina Panthers almost came back to win in Week 16, which will make it tough for the Packers to get through Dallas again – and certainly to make it to a conference title game.

NFL Odds to Win the 2023-2024 NFC Championship in the Week 18

The video is fairly clear from near the end of the Dallas Cowboys’ crazy win over the Detroit Lions on Saturday. Lions left tackle Taylor Decker went to referee Brad Allen to report as eligible. However, two other offensive linemen, Dan Skipper and Penei Sewell, went with Decker, in what looked like an attempt to confuse the Dallas defense. Skipper and Sewell both remained silent while Decker reported, but Allen was confused and said that Skipper was eligible. In typical form, the NFL has blamed the players for the situation, sending around a video explaining to normally ineligible players how to report as eligible for a play. The league also downgraded Allen’s crew, likely keeping them out of the playoffs. Could the Lions still have won? On that play, in which Decker scored a two-point conversion but was called for illegal touching, the penalty still allowed the Lions to try for two again – or to kick the extra point and send the game to overtime. Detroit and Dallas’ playoff seedings were affected by the game’s outcome – so let’s look at the latest NFL betting odds to win the NFC Championship and analyze some of the top contenders.

The Dallas Cowboys might win the NFC East on Sunday, but that doesn’t mean they have any business in the second spot on this odds list. The team’s decision to save money by parting ways with Ezekiel Elliott has shown us that Tony Pollard can’t carry this running game by himself. Elliott has blossomed as a receiver out of the backfield and a pass protector in New England, roles that the Cowboys have lacked this year. In the last five games, the Cowboys have barely beaten a Seattle team that somehow stacked up 35 points on what is supposedly an elite defense; been embarrassed in Buffalo; made key mistakes in a two-point loss in Miami; and played a mostly decent game against Detroit before giving up what should have been the game-winnign touchdown and two-point conversion. The Cowboys might host a wild-card round game and might win, but the divisional round will end their season. Again.

The Detroit Lions could still snag the second seed in the NFC Championship if the Cowboys lose to Washington in Week 18 – and given the way the Cowboys have played the last month and a half, that’s entirely possible. Remember that Washington almost beat Philadelphia twice. The Rams are red-hot at this point, and getting that 2-seed would keep the Lions from having to face them at home in the wild-card round.

The San Francisco 49ers have clinched the top seed and can now give Christian McCaffrey two weeks’ rest. They’re keeping him out of the Week 18 date with the Rams and have the wild-card week off. They need him to heal because he keeps the offense running. Without McCaffrey to run the ball, teams will be able to zero in on Brock Purdy, and as great as his numbers and execution have been, even the greatest NFL quarterbacks have struggled when they didn’t have a credible option to carry the ball.

What about the L.A. Rams? They threw two interceptions against the Giants last week and lost a fumble. Matthew Stafford got sacked several times, and their place-kicking was awful. Even so, they escaped with a 26-25 win. The Rams made a choice to go tempo with their offense to keep the Giants’ defense from settling into rhythm, and it worked. Coaches who can make in-game adjustments go a long way in these playoffs.