Wild Card Betting Slate: AFC Matchup Odds
The Cincinnati Bengals and the Kansas City Chiefs will both try to end long playoff losing streaks when they get the postseason started on Saturday in the AFC Wild Card round.
The Bengals get a divisional matchup against the Steelers and despite getting to play at home they’re still a 2.5-point underdog at online sportsbook 5Dimes.
Cincinnati finished the regular season 12-4 SU and a solid 12-3-1 ATS. They capped off the season with a 24-16 win over Baltimore as a 9.5-point favorite.
The big question mark for the Bengals this weekend, though, will be who is going to be starting at quarterback. Andy Dalton has missed the last three games with an broken thumb but is slated to have his cast removed sometime this week. That doesn’t mean he’ll be healthy enough to return though. With Dalton out A.J. McCarron led Cincinnati to a 2-1 SU and ATS record.
The Steelers punched their playoff ticket last week with a 28-12 win over Cleveland as a 13-point favorite. They also have an injury concern heading into the weekend after running back DeAngelo Williams suffered an ankle injury last week.
The Steelers and Bengals split the season series with a win apiece. In Week 8 Cincinnati won 16-10 as a 1-point road favorite and in Week 14 the Steelers defeated the Bengals 33-20 as a 1-point road underdog.
Pittsburgh is 4-1 SU and ATS in their last five against Cincinnati and 14-6 SU and ATS in their last 20. The Steelers also own a strong 5-1 record SU and ATS in their last six trips to Cincinnati.
The Bengals have gone a long time without a playoff win, having dropped their last seven postseason games SU and ATS. Cincinnati’s last playoff win was in 1991.
The Kansas City Chiefs are also riding a long playoff winless streak as they get set to face the Texans in Houston on Saturday night.
Kansas City has lost eight straight in the playoffs SU and ATS. Their last playoff win came in 1994. The Chiefs are riding another streak heading into this matchup, having finished the regular season with 10 straight wins and a 7-3 ATS record.
The Texans claimed the AFC South after a 9-7 season SU and ATS. They’ve won three in a row ATS and SU and are 7-2 SU and ATS in their last nine games.
This is a rematch of the season opener from way back in Week 1. Kansas City came out on top 27-20 as a 1-point road underdog in that one. In the rematch the Chiefs are a 3.5-point road favorite at online sportsbook Bovada. Houston was 1-2 SU and ATS as a home underdog this season and they’re 2-9 SU and 4-7 ATS in their last 11 games.
The Chiefs may be favored but the road team has a poor history in the Wild Card round. In the last 20 seasons the road team is 28-52 SU and 31-47-2 ATS. The road team has also lost 11 of the 16 Wild Card games played in the last four seasons.