Conference championship weekend offers bettors the last chance this season to make picks against the spread on multiple games on the same day. The San Francisco 49ers are underdogs against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2023 NFC Championship Game. The Kansas City Chiefs are slight favorites over the Cincinnati Bengals in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game.
Here are predictions against the spread for 49ers vs. Eagles and Bengals vs. Chiefs.
San Francisco 49ers (+3) at Philadelphia Eagles
The 49ers opened as 1.5-point underdogs, but the point spread has since reached a field goal at BetMGM. Philadelphia had a much easier time in the divisional playoffs than San Francisco. One night before the 49ers held off the Dallas Cowboys 19-12, the Eagles routed the New York Giants 38-7.
The Eagles faced an easier opponent in their first playoff game. San Francisco is a much better team than New York, especially on defense. The 49ers have allowed the fewest yards and points per game. They held Dallas’ No. 4 scoring offense to just 12 points and intercepted Dak Prescott twice. Jalen Hurts’ shoulder injury will be put to the test against a defense that had the same number of interceptions as passing touchdowns allowed in the regular season.
If anyone is equipped to slow down Philadelphia’s ground game, it might be San Francisco. The 49ers limited Justin Fields to 28 yards on 11 rushes in Week 1. San Francisco hasn’t allowed a 70-yard rusher all season. Brock Purdy has managed to avoid making crucial mistakes, going 7-0 as a starter with a passer rating north of 107.0 in both the regular season and playoffs.
Purdy won’t take over the game, but he can continue getting the ball to Deebo Samuel, Christian McCaffrey and George Kittle in space. If San Francisco’s offensive line can hold up against Philadelphia’s pass rush, the 49ers have a great chance to win the NFC Championship Game.
Prediction ATS: San Francisco
Cincinnati Bengals (+1.5) at Kansas City Chiefs
Joe Burrow is 3-0 against the Chiefs since the start of last season, and Patrick Mahomes didn’t have a high ankle sprain in any of those matchups. Even though Mahomes returned to finish Kansas City’s divisional win over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the superstar quarterback was clearly hampered by the injury. Because the injury isn’t expected to get much better in a week, Cincinnati should have the best quarterback on the field Sunday at Arrowhead Stadium.
Burrow was terrific in a 27-10 win over the Buffalo Bills, completing 23 of 36 attempts for 242 yards, two touchdowns and no interceptions. The concerns regarding Cincinnati’s banged-up offensive line proved to be overblown. Burrow was only sacked once, and Joe Mixon led the way for a Bengals’ rushing attack that totaled 172 yards on 5.1 yards per carry.
The Bengals decisively won the battle in the trenches in Buffalo. That could spell trouble for the Chiefs, considering how immobile Mahomes might be on a sprained ankle. Cincinnati defensive coordinator Lou Anarumo confounded Josh Allen in the divisional round and Mahomes in last year’s playoffs.
The Chiefs are favored by 1.5 points at FanDuel Sportsbook. Given Mahomes’ injury and the way Cincinnati has owned Kansas City, the Bengals probably shouldn’t be underdogs in the AFC Championship Game.
Prediction ATS: Cincinnati
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