Super Bowl 2016: Latest Vegas Odds for Each Favorite Entering Divisional Round

Home-field advantage meant absolutely nothing in Wild Card Weekend of the 2015 NFL playoffs, as all four visiting teams won. Will the trend continue in the divisional round?

Four juicy matchups await us in the second slate of postseason games this weekend, with the top two seeds in each conference all looking to hold serve on their home fields against opponents fresh off of road wins. All four higher-seeded teams are favored, according to Odds Shark, so it will take plenty of unexpected events for a repeat of Wild Card Weekend's road sweep.

Let's examine the Super Bowl and conference championship odds for every team heading into the divisional round and then discuss the road to the big game for each favored team this weekend.

Team	Conference Championship Odds	Super Bowl Odds
AFC
New England Patriots	+160	+450
Denver Broncos	+220	+625
Kansas City Chiefs	+400	+800
Pittsburgh Steelers	+400	+800
NFC
Arizona Cardinals	+190	+425
Carolina Panthers	+210	+500
Seattle Seahawks	+350	+600
Green Bay Packers	+1200	+2500

Denver Broncos (+625 to win the Super Bowl)

The Denver Broncos are planning to go out swinging with their old warhorse for the rest of the playoffs. Per 9News' Mike Klis, 39-year-old Peyton Manning will come back for his first start since Week 15.

Luckily for Denver, it has maybe the easiest road to the Super Bowl of any team. In the divisional round, the defensive-minded Broncos have the injury-riddled Pittsburgh Steelers at home. Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger is day to day after a shoulder injury against the Cincinnati Bengals in Wild Card Weekend, per ESPN.com's Jeremy Fowler. Also according to Fowler, all-everything wide receiver Antonio Brown suffered a concussion on a stupid penalty by the Bengals' Vontaze Burfict, so he may be limited against Denver if he plays at all.

Jack Dempsey/Associated Press

That Roethlisberger-Brown duo is the heart of the Steelers offense and, really, the team as a whole. This Pittsburgh squad wants to win with its offense, and those two are at the center of it all.

All this to say, Denver is a pretty solid favorite at home in the divisional round.

If the Broncos advance, they'll hope to avoid a somewhat healthy New England Patriots in the AFC Championship. Even though Denver will be hosting, Tom Brady and Bill Belichick are never fun to face in January or February.

Looking even further, all of the remaining NFC teams have high ceilings. It may be too soon to look at specific matchups for a potential Super Bowl involving Denver because a lot can change in just under four weeks.

Carolina Panthers (+500 to win the Super Bowl)

A 15-1 team is only the third-most likely team to win the Super Bowl. Why is that?

There still seems to be a sentiment that this Carolina Panthers team can't be the true favorite because it's relatively unproven on the playoff scene and came out of nowhere this season. That may or may not be fair, but what we know is that Cam Newton's spectacular play under center and Carolina's elite all-around defense put the team in great position to win any game.

Heading into a divisional-round matchup against the Seattle Seahawks, the Panthers hope they'll get some offensive balance from a healthy Jonathan Stewart. Per the Charlotte Observer's Jonathan Jones, the running back is day to day with a sprained foot but is probable to play Sunday.

Bob Leverone/Associated Press

If he is out, it will be tough for Carolina to get anything going against the Seahawks' stellar rushing defense, which has kept opponents under 100 yards eight of the past nine weeks.

The Panthers, despite their record, also probably have the toughest probable slate of opponents in front of them to reach the Super Bowl. Seattle won the big game two years ago and has won seven of its past eight games, the 13-3 Arizona Cardinals would likely be their conference championship opponent, and then the cream of the AFC crop would meet them in the Super Bowl.

Home-field advantage should serve Ron Rivera's squad well in a potential Super Bowl run, but a couple of stellar opponents leading up to the ultimate contest make the team's road difficult.

New England Patriots (+450 to win the Super Bowl)

The league's longest-running dynasty and defending Super Bowl champs should get a run for their money Saturday.

The Battle-tested New England Patriots are understandably favored at home against the Kansas City Chiefs, but the Chiefs have won an astounding 11 straight games. The AFC West wild-card squad's average game in that stretch has been a win by a score of 28 to 11.6.

The deciding factor of the game could be how many turnovers the Chiefs are (or are not) able to force. Tom Brady had a league-low 1.1 interception percentage this season, but Kansas City's defensive attack is predicated on takeaways. Which unit will budge: the Patriots offense or the Chiefs defense?

Wilfredo Lee/Associated Press/Associated Press

New England will get some help from returning injured players. Wide receiver Julian Edelman, left tackle Sebastian Vollmer and linebacker Dont'a Hightower are all expected to play against Kansas City, per NFL reporter Doug Moore.

Should the Patriots make it past the Chiefs, they'll either host the Steelers or visit the Broncos. A home game is ideal, but they'll welcome a Brady vs. Manning showdown with Denver's signal-caller no longer at his best.

Arizona Cardinals (+425 to win the Super Bowl)

The NFL's most explosive two-way team had a baffling final regular-season game. Although the Arizona Cardinals are still the Super Bowl favorites, they lost 36-6 to the Seahawks at home in Week 17, probably tempering some expectations people had for the team as a near-lock for the big game.

Of all the divisional matchups, though, Arizona is the safest bet to win. The squad is facing the banged-up Green Bay Packers, whom it beat 38-8 at home Week 16. The Packers did look pretty good during Wild Card Weekend against the Washington Redskins, but the Cardinals are a whole different animal.

Jeff Haynes/Associated Press

Arizona always finds a way to shut down at least one of its opponent's offensive means, whether passing or rushing. It will try to do the latter Saturday against Green Bay, which goes as far as Aaron Rodgers' arm can carry it. On the other side of the ball, the Cardinals may be able to exploit the Packers' 21st-ranked rushing defense with their eighth-ranked rushing attack.

Should the Cardinals make it through the divisional round, they'll either host the Seahawks or visit the Panthers. A matchup against Seattle may be more daunting given what happened in Week 17. But if Carolina beats the Seahawks convincingly this weekend, that outlook could change.