Bills, Chiefs, Bengals are Three-Headed Monster Atop AFC

by

Jan 19, 2023

With the Divisional Round set to kick off this weekend, the trio of the Kansas City ChiefsCincinnati Bengals, and Buffalo Bills are drawing the most interest to win the AFC.

The Bengals and Bills survived scares against divisional rivals in the Wild Card Round. At the same time, the Chiefs were able to rest and get healthy, as they earned the first-round bye ahead of their matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars in this weekend’s Divisional Round. 

Even with the Jags posting an impressive comeback victory over the Los Angeles Chargers, they remain the lone team of the four in the AFC who haven’t received much betting interest. 

AFC Championship Betting Insights @ BetMGM:
  • Favorite: Chiefs +150
  • Highest Ticket%: Chiefs 17.0%
  • Highest Handle%: Chiefs 22.6%
  • Biggest Liability: Bengals

The Chiefs, Bills, and Bengals all boast franchise quarterbacks. Even the Jaguars, who have the longest odds of the four at +1100, have a future star in Trevor Lawrence at the helm. Joe BurrowPatrick Mahomes, and Josh Allen have proven capable of putting their team on their back and carrying them to victory. 

With the Chiefs being the AFC’s top seed, they also have the shortest odds to advance to the Super Bowl, where they sit at +150. The Bills aren’t far behind them at +175, while the Bengals have a little gap between the top two with +350 odds

The trio has compiled more than 14% of tickets each and at least 16% of the handle. The Chiefs currently lead both categories and have generated 17% of tickets and 22.6% of the handle. Kansas City is the only remaining AFC team with more than 20% of the handle, indicating there have also been some sizable bets heading in their direction. 

The Bills haven’t seen the level of interest the Chiefs have, but they aren’t trailing by much, as Buffalo has drawn in 16.7% of tickets for 16.2% of the handle. The Bengals have compiled 14.2% of tickets and 16.4% of the handle, slightly higher than Buffalo’s. 

With the Bengals opening at +650 before they were bet down to +350, and the second-highest handle percentage, Cincinnati is currently the book’s biggest liability to win the AFC. 

Thumbnail photo via Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

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