Despite some struggles throughout the regular season, especially on the road, the New England Patriots (11-5) still managed to earn themselves a much-needed bye this week before getting an opportunity to host a playoff game in the Divisional Round as the No. 2 seed in the AFC.
The Patriots enter the postseason as the +650 fourth choice on the Super Bowl odds (bet $100 to win $650) at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
New England has never won the Super Bowl without a bye, making that a critical component en route to winning its 10th consecutive AFC East title. The Patriots won a tie-breaker with the Houston Texans for the second seed in the conference thanks to a 27-20 head-to-head victory in Week 1, and that may help them get back to the AFC Championship Game for the eighth year in a row.
They were the only team to post a perfect home record this season at 8-0 straight up, going 6-2 against the spread at online betting sites.
More good news for New England is that the team has not lost to any of the other five AFC playoff teams this season, going 3-0 SU and 2-1 ATS versus Houston, the Indianapolis Colts and the Kansas City Chiefs, with all of the wins coming at Gillette Stadium. The Patriots may get a rematch with the Texans next week if they beat the Colts on Saturday as two-point home favorites on the NFL odds.
The Chiefs are the lone AFC team with lower odds to win the Super Bowl right now at +470. But Kansas City lost 43-40 at New England in Week 6 and no longer has running back Kareem Hunt. Since Hunt's release from the team after a domestic abuse incident, the Chiefs are just 3-2 SU and 1-4 ATS, making them anything but a lock to get to the Super Bowl.
The other AFC Wild Card game on Sunday will see the Baltimore Ravens host the Los Angeles Chargers as 2.5-point home favorites. The Ravens upset the Chargers 22-10 as four-point road underdogs two weeks ago on their way to winning the AFC North.
New England Patriots
Baltimore would visit New England next week with a victory and loss by Houston to Indianapolis. The Ravens are +1300 to win the Super Bowl, the third choice among AFC teams. Los Angeles is right behind at +1500 and would make the trip to Foxboro under a similar scenario.
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