AFC & NFC Championship predictions and NFL betting tips: Pats and Hawks Super Bowl bound

The route to the Super Bowl has been confirmed as the final four teams contest the AFC and NFC Conference Championship games this weekend in the NFL.

The top two seeds in the AFC face off on Sunday as the Denver Broncos welcome the New England Patriots to Empower Field (8pm GMT), while the Los Angeles Rams travel to Lumen Field to take on the Seattle Seahawks in the late game in the NFC (11.30pm GMT).

The Patriots are strong favourites on betting sites to win the AFC title, despite being the road side. Denver lost starting QB Bo Nix to a broken ankle in the dramatic 33-30 win over the Bills in the Divisional Round, and they’re 4.5-point underdogs with bookmakers.

Meanwhile, the Seahawks come into the weekend off the back of their demolition of the 49ers last week, and and are favoured by 2.5-points to the meeting with divisional rivals the Rams, who squeezed past the Chicago Bears with a 20-17 win last time out.

The Broncos already face the stumbling block of overcoming the injury to Bo Nix as they look to make the Super Bowl, though they are 9-1 at home this season and have seen the spread move in their favour since the market opened on NFL betting sites.

That injury to Nix is the deciding factor in the visiting team being favourites, with backup Broncos quarterback Jarrett Stidham making his first appearance in the NFL since January 7, 2024 – a 28-14 loss against the Las Vegas Raiders – and his first ever start in a post-season game.

In his career as a whole, Stidham has played just 20 games, completing 59.4 per cent of his passes for 1,422 yards alongside eight touchdowns with eight interceptions, and the Patriots dismantled an arguably more imposing team with a better QB in the win over the Texans.

It is difficult to look past Stidham’s inexperience and lack of proven ability at this level, especially when his opposite number Drake Maye is an MVP contender, who had 72 per cent pass completion for 4,394 yards and 31 touchdowns (with eight interceptions) in the regular season, alongside throwing for four touchdowns with two interceptions in the postseason.

The Patriots are solid on both sides of the ball - ranking third in yards per game on offence and second in total points in the regular season – and while Denver coach Sean Payton has pulled off plenty of upset in the past, it remains to be seen what he can produce without Nix.

However, the home defence has also proven a capable unit, ranking second in yards allowed per game and third in points conceded in the regular season, and they have only lost one game at home all season, so if they can keep it close then they have an outside chance.

With that in mind - and considering that five of the last six Patriots games and four of the last six Broncos games have passed this total – we think a double on New England to win and over 42.5 points make sense on Sunday.

AFC Championship prediction: Patriots to beat Broncos & over 42.5 points total @ 31/20 (BetMGM)

The other spot in February’s Super Bowl will be taken by either the Seattle Seahawks or the Los Angeles Rams, with the hosts starting as modest favourites on betting apps.

The NFC’s top seed demolished the 49ers 41-6 in the Divisional Round, but the Rams look far more dangerous and have shown they can match the Seahawks with the two sides splitting the regular season series 1-1 after two close games.

This is a game that pits the top scoring offence in the league - the Rams – against Seattle’s defence, which was itself the top scoring in the league, with the home team winning on both of their previous meetings this season.

The Rams offence led the NFL in total yards, passing yards and total points in the regular season, with the Seahawks ranking eighth, eighth and third in those metrics, but it’s Seattle who dominate defensively, placing sixth in total yards allowed, third in rushing yards and top in total points conceded – with the Rams ranking 17th, 12th and 10th in comparison.

Rams QB Matthew Stafford went off for 457 yards and three touchdowns the last time these teams met, and he is generally regarded as the better of the two QBs compared with Seattle’s Sam Darnold, who has been limited in practice this week.

The hosts are also missing running back Zach Charbonnet due to injury, and they could struggle more than the NFL odds suggest.

However, the deciding factor in this one could be the Seattle defence and the fact the Rams have already had two tough road play-off games against the Carolina Panthers and Chicago Bears. If Darnold can step up as he did in Week 16 win over the Rams, then the hosts should be able to book their place at Super Bowl LX.

NFC Championship prediction: Seahawks to beat Rams & over 46.5 points total @ 21/10 (bet365)

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