NFL playoff betting kicks off with field set; Survivors split $14.3M

The Lions and Chiefs remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl after Detroit joined Kansas City as the NFL’s No. 1 playoff seeds Sunday night.

The Lions beat the Vikings 31-9 to claim the top seed and covered as 3-point home favorites in the regular-season finale on “Sunday Night Football” in what was the most heavily bet game of the season.

“Detroit is America’s team now, and every week, the Lions and over are the biggest decisions of the football week,” Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.

A Caesars bettor won a $300,000 straight bet on Detroit -3 (+105), but the NFC North showdown stayed way under the season-high total of 57. Bettors at the Westgate SuperBook lost on the Vikings.

“Some of our big house players were betting the Vikings +3 and the public was all over the Vikings,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said.

Minnesota finished tied with Philadelphia for the NFL’s second-best record at 14-3 (behind the 15-2 Lions and Chiefs). But its reward is the No. 5 seed and a Super Wild Card Weekend road game at the Rams. The Vikings are 1½-point favorites.

“They racked up 14 wins in a really, really good division, and they’ve got to go on the road next weekend. That’s a pretty tough draw,” Murray said. “Most of the guys on our team like the Rams in that game. I would say the public bettors will probably take Minnesota just because they did go 14-3.”

The Ravens and the Bills are the biggest favorites of the weekend, and Murray said they will be a very popular two-team teaser and money-line parlay for bettors.

Baltimore is a 9½-point home favorite over Pittsburgh on Saturday night, and Buffalo is a 9-point home favorite over Denver on Sunday morning.

All three NFC games feature lines of 4½ or less, with the Eagles 4½-point home favorites over the Packers on Sunday afternoon and the Buccaneers 3-point home favorites over the Commanders on Sunday night.

“I think the NFC is far more wide open than the AFC,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “I really expect the AFC to be one of three teams: the Bills, Ravens or Chiefs. In the NFC, it wouldn’t surprise me if anybody snuck through.

“I think there’s value on almost all the underdogs in the NFC getting points.”

Super Chargers

The Chargers are a popular wager as 3-point road favorites over the Texans in the NFL playoff opener Saturday afternoon.

“We already got a lot of money on the Chargers,” Murray said. “We’re going to be big Houston fans on Saturday.”

Los Angeles improved its seed to No. 5 after beating the Raiders 34-20 on Sunday and covering as a 7-point favorite.

Book report

Sportsbooks won in Week 18 as favorites cooled a bit, at least against the spread. Favorites won 12 of 16 games, but underdogs went 9-7 ATS with four outright upsets by the Patriots (+3, beat Bills 23-16), Panthers (+8, beat Falcons 44-38 in overtime), Bears (+10, beat Packers 24-22) and Texans (+2½, beat Titans 23-14).

The Saints also covered as 15-point underdogs in a 27-19 loss at Tampa Bay.

“It’s funny. This is probably our best Sunday over the last two months, and it looked more like a preseason week than a normal week because there was so much uncertainty and so many line moves and so many games that meant nothing to one or both teams,” Esposito said. “That usually does not bode well for our side of the counter. But having the Saints cover and the Patriots, Bears and Panthers win outright were all huge early morning games for us.”

Survivor sweats

Eighteen Circa Survivor contestants advanced to Week 18. Only eight contestants survived the final week and finished 20-0 — Thanksgiving and Christmas are separate contest weeks — to split the $14.3 million prize for $1.8 million each.

Five entries won on the Buccaneers, who overcame a 16-6 halftime deficit. Two won on the Colts, who outlasted the Jaguars 26-23 in overtime. One prevailed on the Cardinals, who pulled away in the second half en route to a 47-24 rout of the 49ers.

Eight contestants were eliminated by the Falcons in their overtime loss to the Panthers. Two entries suffered an excruciating loss on the Packers, who took a 22-21 lead over the Bears on Brandon McManus’ 55-yard field goal with 54 seconds left, only to lose 24-22 on Cairo Santos’ 51-yard field goal as time expired.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.