Some very popular teams will be performing this weekend in the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs. So will the Kansas City Chiefs. This “small-market” franchise hasn’t been part of the national conversation for decades – maybe since they won the Super Bowl at the end of the 1969 season. Despite their small following, they’re getting decent support in their matchup against the Steelers. Here’s a preview of what you can expect this Sunday.
 

Pittsburgh Steelers at Kansas City Chiefs (1:05 PM ET, NBC)

Kansas City (12-4 SU, 9-7 ATS) backed into the AFC West title when the Oakland Raiders lost QB Derek Carr to a broken leg, but that doesn’t mean the Chiefs are unworthy. They had a better regular-season record than the Steelers (12-5 SU, 10-6-1 ATS), who won the softer AFC North, and they had a better point differential at +78 to Pittsburgh’s +72. No wonder sharp bettors were quick to unload on the Chiefs when they opened as 1-point home favorites, which is where they sit at press time after a brief run at –2.

The Steelers crushed Kansas City 43-14 as 4-point favorites when they hosted the Chiefs in Week 4, and on top of that, they made it to the Divisional Round with an impressive 30-12 victory over the Miami Dolphins, who came in as 11.5-point road dogs after opening at +10. But QB Ben Roethlisberger tweaked his ankle late in the fourth quarter, and TE Ladarius Green missed the game with a concussion. Roethlisberger is expected to play Sunday, and Green is still in league protocol at press time. The total for this contest has fallen from 45 to 44 on the NFL odds board, with a mixture of snow and rain in the forecast and temperatures hovering around the freezing mark.

 

Green Bay Packers at Dallas Cowboys (8:15 PM ET, CBS)

Whichever team wins this game will be the favorite to represent the NFC at Super Bowl 51, and at the moment, it’s the Packers (11-6 SU, 10-6-1 ATS) who are drawing most of the support for this matchup. They’ve won seven straight games at 6-1 ATS, and they’ve got one of the league’s top stars in QB Aaron Rodgers. As popular as the Cowboys (13-3 SU, 10-6 ATS) are, rookie QB Dak Prescott isn’t as well-known as Rodgers and hasn’t earned the full trust of the betting public.

Nevertheless, Dallas is holding steady as a 4-point home chalk, with the total climbing from 52 points to 52.5. The Cowboys had the bye week as the No. 1 seed in the NFC, whereas the Packers beat the New York Giants (+5 away) 38-13 in Wild Card action and came out of the game with several injuries, most notably to WR Jordy Nelson, who will miss this Sunday’s contest after suffering broken ribs. Nelson had five catches for 68 yards when Green Bay lost 30-16 to the Cowboys (+6 away) back in Week 6.

 

*Odds as of January 13, 2017