It’s a Trap: Which AFC-NFC Championship Spread or Total is Most Deceiving?

We are down to the last three games left in the NFL season with the AFC and NFC Championship games upon us. Just four teams remain and we have two great matchups to look forward to this weekend. As always, we wanted to provide readers with a piece on possible trap games. But, with just two good games left, we decided to update the idea of a “trap” game a little bit for this week to include totals. So, let us take a look over one game where the spread is deceiving and one where the total seems a little fishy. All odds used are current and provided by WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Cincinnati Bengals vs Kansas City Chiefs -7

Starting off with a more traditional trap game, let’s look at the Chiefs giving seven points at home to the Cincinnati Bengals in the AFC championship game. I am going back to the well here in some way with another underdog bet on the Bengals. They continue to literally defy the odds and are playing at a very high level right now. The offense features three of the most talented players in the NFL with Joe Burrow, Ja’Marr Chase, and Tee Higgins.

This group already proved that they can not only beat the Chiefs, but can beat up on them to boot. For example, Ja’Marr Chase owns the NFL’s best game in terms of receiving yards this season with 266. Chase dropped that game, along with three touchdowns, on the Kansas City Chiefs just three weeks ago. Not Week 3, three weeks ago! That is practically yesterday and the Bengals have only looked better in the weeks that followed. 

While the Chiefs are a great team, they could be without their best weapon in the secondary, Tyrann Mathieu. KC’s best safety suffered a concussion in the first quarter of last week’s game and was the only Chiefs player not to practice today. The more I look at this game the more I like the Bengals and I think that the spread is very beatable. 

San Francisco 49ers vs Los Angeles Rams O/U 46.5

The NFC Championship Game is the late game on Sunday and is expected to be the lesser scoring one by far. 7.5 points lower scoring to be exact according to the current odds at WynnBET who have the total for this game at 46.5. While I agree that this game will be a lower-scoring affair, I think 46.5 is pushing it for two teams that have the ability to throw punches in bunches. First off, these two teams played in Week 18 to a final of 27-24 in favor of San Francisco. That is 51 points for those mathematically challenged individuals such as myself. 

Additionally, with names like Cooper Kupp, Matthew Stafford, Odell Beckham Jr., Deebo Samuel, and George Kittle on the field, there is no shortage of star talent on offense. I think that this game ends in a shootout that goes OVER 46.5.