NFL Playoff Odds 2016: AFC, NFC Vegas Lines for Wild Card and Super Bowl

Las Vegas isn't joking about the 2016 NFL playoffs—more than two teams have an incredible shot to win the Super Bowl.

It's an interesting postseason when the wild regular season spits out a No. 1 seed in the Denver Broncos that has quarterback issues despite rostering Peyton Manning and teams such as the Kansas City Chiefs and Houston Texans make it in without superstars like Jamaal Charles and Arian Foster, respectively. 

In other words, it looks like this postseason will be as difficult on bettors as the regular season was. Let's help the cause there, too, by listing some predictions with the odds and looking at the far-reaching odds—those dealing with the Lombardi Trophy.

NFL Playoff Bracket

Matchup	Pick
No. 6 Pittsburgh Steelers (-3) vs. No. 3 Cincinnati Bengals	CIN 27-24
No. 5 Kansas City Chiefs (-3.5) vs. No. 4 Houston Texans	KC 30-20
No. 6 Seattle Seahawks (-5) vs. No. 3 Minnesota Vikings	MIN 24-21
No. 5 Green Bay Packers (-1) vs. No. 4 Washington	WAS 28-27

Super Bowl Odds

Team	SB Odds
Panthers	19-4
Cardinals	19-4
Patriots	19-4
Seahawks	19-4
Broncos	25-4
Steelers	9-1
Chiefs	14-1
Packers	25-1
Bengals	28-1
Vikings	28-1
Washington	50-1
Texans	66-1

Value Odds to Consider

Chiefs (14-1)

Charlie Riedel/Associated Press

The team that has won 10 games in a row has pretty sweet odds, no? 

Folks should know the drill by now. The Kansas City Chiefs limped to a 1-5 start, then went on a historic 10-game tear to qualify for the postseason, using an elite defense and savvy play from quarterback Alex Smith to compensate for the loss of the aforementioned Charles.

Smith, at the least, won't lose games for his team. He's sitting on a 65.3 completion percentage with 20 touchdowns to seven interceptions while leaning on two of the better options any team could have at their respective positions:

NAME	REC	TAR	YDS	AVG	TD
Jeremy Maclin	87	124	1088	12.5	8
Travis Kelce	72	100	875	12.2	5

Did anybody mention the Chiefs defense tallied 47 sacks, led by Justin Houston's 7.5, while ranking third in the league at 17.9 points allowed per game?

Andy Reid's team is in the dance for a reason, folks. As for the path through the dance, the Chiefs already took down their first opponent, the Houston Texans, 27-20 to start the season. As another example, they split the season series with the Denver Broncos, winning one 29-13 and losing one by just seven points during the miserable skid.

When an offense is this efficient and protective of the football and a defense can shutter almost any attack, it makes for a solid bet. The Chiefs might not seem like it, but at this payout they're one of the best decisions a bettor could make.

Packers (25-1)

What, don't like a set of odds weighing on the play of Aaron Rodgers?

All right, maybe Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers haven't been the most encouraging bunch as of late. They've lost two of their last three, while Rodgers tossed a trio of touchdowns and interceptions.

But the Packers aren't just happy to be here, folks. Just ask head coach Mike McCarthy.

"We're going to Washington to win," McCarthy said, according to ESPN.com's Rob Demovsky. "I mean, we're in the playoffs. We're fully aware of what people maybe think about us. That frankly was the message today. ... We like our opportunity. We've earned the opportunity."

Observers might slap the panic button on the Packers because they expect perfection from a Rodgers-led team. But the man still has 31 touchdowns to eight picks with a miserable running game behind him and James Jones as his leading receiver. The defense, believe it or not, coughs up only 20.2 points per game.

The path is about what one would expect from the NFC. Rodgers has to navigate past Washington to start things, then deal with elite defenses of every team still alive. But these odds with Rodgers as the catalyst aren't easy to ignore, and neither is the self-cannibalizing nature of the conference.

Worse teams have charged for the Lombardi Trophy with worse quarterbacks. This payout is worth the risk for those on the hunt for value.

Bengals (28-1)

See, a bet on Rodgers doesn't look too bad when the alternative is...AJ McCarron? 

So it goes with the Cincinnati Bengals, one of the rare teams able to make the quarterback position a nonfactor. When there's weapons like Jeremy Hill in the backfield and A.J. Green and Tyler Eifert to catch passes, well, so it goes.

The Bengals don't figure to have Andy Dalton back for a third straight game against the Pittsburgh Steelers in the Wild Card Game, but it's not something bettors should worry about. They split the season series, and Cincinnati's loss in the split came when both Dalton and Eifert left the game in the first quarter with injuries.

If there's a defense that could carry a backup quarterback to a title, it would be Cincinnati's, as Vontaze Burfict, Geno Atkins and Co. allow just 17.4 points per game.

The funny thing? If the Bengals can get out of the first round, Dalton figures to return considering he's out of the cast, according to NFL Network's Ian Rapoport:

Dalton led the Bengals to the best start in franchise history. They blew out the Chiefs, played the Texans close, beat the Steelers once and took the Broncos to overtime on the road with McCarron under center.

Long story short, Cincinnati isn't a terrible bet even in the face of the quarterback hoopla that clearly influenced these odds. While some might shy away, brave bettors might take the risk and reap the benefits.

Given the way this season has gone, would it really be a shock?

Stats courtesy of NFL.com and accurate as of January 7. All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus. All betting information courtesy of Odds Shark.