After an exciting and frigid divisional round, the matchups for the AFC and NFC championships are set.
In the AFC, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs head to Baltimore to take on the No. 1-seeded Ravens. The Ravens are coming off Lamar Jackson's magnificent performance in knocking off the Houston Texans.
In the NFC, the top-seeded San Francisco 49ers survived a scare against the Green Bay Packers but will now take on the North division champs, the Detroit Lions, who have never been to a Super Bowl.
Projections by ESPN's Football Power Index (FPI). Odds by ESPN BET.
Kansas City Chiefs @ Baltimore Ravens -4
M&T Bank Stadium, Baltimore
Sunday 3 p.m. ET
Money line: Kansas City Chiefs (+175); Baltimore Ravens (-210)
Total: 44.5; Opened: 46.5
FPI favorite: Ravens by 4.6 (63.6% to win outright)
Betting nuggets
The Ravens are 12-6 ATS this season with overs and unders going 9-9. The Ravens are covering games by an average of 8.5 points per game, the best mark by any team since 2012.
The Chiefs are 11-8 ATS this season with unders going 12-7.
Mahomes has been an underdog 11 times in his career entering the AFC Championship Game. He is 8-3 outright and 9-1-1 ATS. Mahomes is 9-0-1 ATS as a road underdog in his career.
The Chiefs have covered four straight games, their longest ATS winning streak since 2021 (six straight).
Mahomes is 3-1 outright and 2-2 ATS against Jackson. Three of the four meetings went over the total, with each matchup combining for at least 51 points. The average for the previous four over/unders was 52.4 with none lower than 49.
The Ravens are 14-7 ATS in playoff games under coach John Harbaugh including 9-3 ATS since 2012. Jackson is 2-3 ATS in the playoffs with unders going 4-1.
Home teams are 7-3 ATS in the last 10 AFC Championship Games.
Detroit Lions @ San Francisco 49ers -7
Levi's Stadium, Santa Clara, California
Sunday 6:30 p.m. ET
Money line: Detroit Lions (+280); San Francisco 49ers (-350)
Total: 51.5; Opened: 51.5
FPI favorite: 49ers by 8.5 (74.1% to win outright)
Betting nuggets
The Lions are 13-6 ATS this season, the second-best mark behind the Raiders (12-5 ATS). Overs are 12-7 in Lions games. The 49ers are 9-9 ATS this season with overs going 10-8.
The Lions are 36-17 ATS under coach Dan Campbell, the best record in the NFL in that span (since 2021). They are 21-10 ATS as underdogs and 17-9 ATS on the road under Campbell.
Campbell is 18-6 against the spread (ATS) in his career when getting at least 4 points, including 16-4 ATS with the Lions.
This is the Lions' largest underdog role this season. The Lions are 2-1 ATS and 1-2 outright as underdogs this season (largest underdog role: +3.5 at Cowboys in Week 17).
Since 1999, teams favored by at least six points in conference championship games are 5-11 ATS and 11-5 outright. The last conference title game spread this large was two years ago when Cincinnati (+7) upset Kansas City outright.
The 49ers are 0-6 ATS in their last six home games, their longest ATS losing streak since 2016 and tied for their second-longest home ATS losing streak in the Super Bowl era.
The Lions are 5-1 ATS in their last six games and 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games.
The 49ers are 0-4 ATS in their last four games against teams with winning records.
The Lions have covered three straight meetings with all three matchups going over the total.
The 49ers are 7-3 ATS in playoff games under coach Kyle Shanahan with unders going 8-2. He is 5-0 outright and 4-1 ATS as a postseason favorite with the only ATS loss coming in the divisional round last week.
Top-seeded teams that win but don't cover their divisional round matchup are 11-7 ATS in conference championship games (4-1 ATS since 2013).