NFL Championship Sunday Betting Odds: Patriots and Niners Favored

The New England Patriots have been in this position plenty of times before, favorites to win the Super Bowl. In recent years, the Patriots have squandered their opportunities to reach the big game by blowing games at home in the playoffs. This season, the Patriots took care of their first game against Denver.

The only team in the way of a return Patriots trip to the Super Bowl is Baltimore. The Ravens have beaten New England once already this season, but going to New England for a championship game is going to be no easy task for the Ravens. The Patriots are favored by nine points in the game.

New England has rode the back of its offense this season, with Tom Brady having one of his best seasons yet. The defense has been ranked near the bottom of the league for much of the year. That is a stark contrast to Baltimore, which again has one of the best statistical defenses. The ravens problems have been on the offensive side of the ball, where Joe Flacco has received criticism for not progressing into an elite quarterback.

Over in the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers have done a complete turnaround from last season. The 49ers went 13-3 during the regular season, but many analysts believed that record was a result of playing ion a weak NFC West. The 49ers answered their critics last weekend when they defended their home turf in a win over one of the Super Bowl favorites, the New Orleans Saints.

San Francisco's heralded defense will have another tough test this Sunday when Eli Manning and the Giants come to town. Manning orchestrated an upset of his own last weekend when he went into Green Bay and beat the Packers for the second time in the playoffs. Manning is searching for his second Super Bowl ring, but will have to get there as an underdog. The 49ers are three point favorites against the Giants.

The totals for the two championship games show the difference in approaches of the four teams. The Giants and 49ers, two teams know to play good defense, have a betting total of 42. In the AFC title game, the total is 50.5, with Brady and the Patriots putting up over 30 points a game. The winner's of the two championship games will meet in the Super Bowl on February 5th.

January 18, 2012
Posted By Vincent Tapoglia III
Staff Editor, CasinoGamblingWeb.com
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