NFL Conference Championships Picks, Previews & Odds – Cincinnati Bengals to surprise

Welcome to our expert NFL Conference Championships picks and previews for each game plus early odds on Super Bowl.

This Sunday, we have the NFL Conference Championships followed by the highly awaited Super Bowl LVI February 13th, which will be officially set as this weekend’s games are final.

With that in mind the team at BetOnline has already released odds on what the potential matchup could be as seen below.

As we all know, these lines could/will change, based on teams' performances in the Conference Championship round, as well as any unforeseen injuries that may occur:

Early Super Bowl LVI Odds

• Chiefs (-2.5) -115 vs. Rams
• Chiefs (-3) -115 vs. 49ers
• Bengals vs. Rams (-3.5) -110
• Bengals vs. 49ers (-3) -110

For updated odds, please visit: https://www.betonline.ag/sportsbook/football/nfl

Additionally, below you will see wagering volume for Sunday's AFC and NFC Championship Games:

AFC Championship

Bengals at Chiefs (-7, 54.5)

60.7% of $ on Chiefs -7

70.9% of $ on Chiefs ML (-355)

77.0% of $ on OVER

NFC Championship

49ers at Rams (-3.5, 45.5)

52.9% of $ on 49ers +3.5

57.5% of $ on Rams ML (-180)

64.3% of $ on UNDER

Top NFL Conference Championships Picks and Previews

Date	Matchup	Time (ET)	TV
Sunday, January 30	Bengals @ Chiefs	3:05 PM	CBS
Sunday, January 30	49ers @ Rams	6:30 PM	FOX

Cincinnati Bengals @ Kansas City Chiefs

Not that it would be relatively surprising for them as this has been a year full of new experiences for them.

Two weeks ago, Joe Burrow led this team to their first postseason win in 31 long years. They followed that performance up with their first ever road playoff win in the Divisional Round.

Burrow has phenomenal leadership and control of this team and it shows in their swagger. Plus, the wide receiver core is arguably the best in the league with Ja’Marr Chase, Tee Higgins and Tyler Boyd all contributing. Joe Mixon is a powerful runner but their offensive line is having some issues lately.

They allowed nine sacks in their last game and it’s a miracle that they were still able to pull away with a victory.

Defensively, Cincinnati has a ton of playmakers. Eli Apple gave them a lot of bad media coverage over the last week but other guys like Trey Hendrickson and Logan Wilson are phenomenal players back there.

Jessie Bates can’t be forgotten about either.

Flipping over to the Kansas City Chiefs now, they are on a mission. They stomped all over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Round a few weeks ago.

Then they found themselves down by three points with 13 seconds remaining in their game against the Buffalo Bills last week.

All seemed lost at that point, until they somehow marched into field goal range and kicked a game tying field goal.

They went into overtime, won the coin toss, and Patrick Mahomes easily marched them down the field for a walk-off touchdown.

Mahomes still looks unstoppable in this offense and he has an excellent supporting cast. The offensive line is arguably the best in the league and Jerick McKinnon is actually looking like a strong runner with Clyde Edwards-Helaire a little banged up.

Oh, and we can’t forget about Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce in the pass game along with Mecole Hardman.

The major issue with the Chiefs is their defense. While they got better in the second half of the season, last week proved how bad they can be.

Buffalo was unstoppable against them and scored two touchdowns inside the two-minute warning.

The last time the Bengals played the Chiefs, Chase went ballistic and if last week was any indication he could certainly explode once again.

In terms of experience and coaching, the Chiefs have the edge here.

However, I feel like many teams doubt the Bengals considering they were dead last in their division just a year ago.

Burrow and company don’t take anybody lightly and consider themselves the favorite anyways.

That swagger is what has got them this far, and they have already proven to be capable of beating the Chiefs. They did so towards the end of the regular season.

It’s not a popular pick, but I think the Bengals could have the upset of the century here and surprise the Chiefs.

Game Pick: Cincinnati Bengals

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San Francisco 49ers @ Los Angeles Rams

They were down 17 points to the Rams in the final game of the regular season with their playoff hopes in the balance. They somehow came back and won the game in overtime.

The next week they upset the Dallas Cowboys on the road to advance deeper into the playoffs.

They took a trip to Lambeau Field to play the Green Bay Packers and upset them as well despite only scoring six offensive points!

This 49ers team doesn’t quit, though not much of this success can be attributed to Jimmy Garoppolo.

He hasn’t dragged them down, but he hasn’t done anything to help them win either.

Game managing at its finest. Luckily, Deebo Samuel can’t be stopped with a lot of attention being thrown at George Kittle consistently.

Also, that offensive line with Trent Williams healthy is a force to be reckoned with. On defense, they are absolutely incredible.

I had concerns regarding the secondary but their front seven are stellar. Fred Warner and Nick Bosa are truly the difference makers, they could make a bad situation turn completely around in just one second.

As for the Rams here, they need to regroup after their last game. They started the postseason by beating the brakes off of the Arizona Cardinals in the Wild Card Round.

Then they went up against the reigning champions, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Tom Brady.

Los Angeles jumped out to a 27-3 lead, but then decided they didn’t want to win anymore. They fumbled four times and was staring at a tie game with one minute left in regulation.

Thankfully, they avoided a major collapse and scored a game winning field goal after two huge plays from Cooper Kupp on the last possession.

Moving forward, it’s hard to not imagine the Rams Super Bowl contenders just off their talent alone. Matthew Stafford is a very capable quarterback and has amazing weapons with Kupp and Odell Beckham out there running routes.

Cam Akers struggled last week but is usually much better in their run game also.

Flipping to their defense, it’s hard to miss their playmakers.

We have the best cornerback in the NFL right now in Jalen Ramsey, then we got the best defensive lineman in football with Aaron Donald sitting there.

On top of that, Von Miller is out there rushing off the edge.

They are just so good all-around, but they always seem to beat themselves.

Again, all signs point towards the Rams winning this game and advancing onto the Super Bowl, but I saw that the 49ers have beaten the Rams in the last six matchups.

That isn’t a coincidence anymore, the 49ers genuinely have the Rams number in this divisional rivalry.

Look for the Rams to jump out to an early lead here, but after last week's collapse and their disaster of a loss in the finale against this team, San Francisco could win this game.

Game Pick: San Francisco 49ers

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