AFC Championship Game Betting Preview

The Cincinnati Bengals have reached the AFC championship game for the first time since 1989, but they’ll be in tough on the road as underdogs against the Kansas City Chiefs on Sunday.

At Bovada Sportsbook, the Chiefs are 7-point favorites. Kansas City is playing in the conference championship game for the fourth straight year and has won it the last two seasons. The Chiefs advanced this year by defeating the Buffalo Bills 42-36 as a 2-point favorite in the divisional round last weekend.

Chiefs favored to win third consecutive AFC championship

With the win over Buffalo, the Chiefs are 11-1 straight up and 8-4 against the spread in their last 12 games. For totals bettors, they’ve gone OVER the posted total in seven straight games. At home, the Chiefs have won eight straight with a 6-2 ATS record that includes winning six in a row ATS.

In the playoffs, Kansas City is 7-1 SU and 6-2 ATS in its last eight. The team has also won seven straight at home in the playoffs with a 6-1 ATS record.

After posting their first playoff win in more than 30 years in the opening round, the Bengals advanced to the conference championship by upsetting the top-seeded Tennessee Titans 19-16 as a 4-point underdog in the divisional round. That was the Bengals’ sixth straight win ATS, during which they’re 5-1 SU. On the road, the Bengals have been tough at 6-2 SU and 7-1 ATS in their last eight games. They’re also 5-1 ATS in their last six as an underdog.

Cincinnati has beaten Kansas City in 5 of last 6 meetings

The Bengals have obviously won their last two playoff games both SU and ATS, but prior to this season they had lost eight straight in the playoffs with a 0-7-1 ATS record. Cincinnati has gone UNDER the posted total in its last six playoff games.

Near the end of the regular season, the Bengals defeated the Chiefs 34-31 as a 3.5-point home underdog. Including that win in Week 17, Cincinnati is 5-1 SU and 4-2 ATS in its last six vs Kansas City. The Bengals have also had success in Kansas City with a 6-3 record SU and ATS in their last nine road games against the Chiefs. This is the first playoff game ever between the two teams.

The favorite has delivered most of the time in the AFC championship game recently. In the last seven AFC title games, the favorite is 5-2 SU and 4-3 ATS. That includes the Chiefs going 2-1 SU and ATS in the last three AFC championship games.