NFL Playoff Odds 2018: AFC, NFC Vegas Lines for Wild Card and Super Bowl

The New England Patriots are favored to win the Super Bowl, and that's not a surprise. The Pats are the defending champions, they went 13-3 and defeated the Pittsburgh Steelers on the road, and they have perhaps the greatest head coach/quarterback combination in the history of the NFL in Bill Belichick and Tom Brady.

However, are the Patriots the most dangerous team in the NFL and do they warrant their status as plus-210 favorites, per OddsShark? (A $100 bet on the plus-210 Pats would earn the bettor $310—his $100 original bet plus a profit of $210.)

The Patriots may not be such a sure thing in this year's postseason. Tom Brady threw six interceptions in his last six games after throwing just two picks in the first 10 games of the season. That's an issue that has to concern Belichick and offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels.

Couple that problem with New England's 29th-ranked defense, and the Pats have some vulnerability. The defensive rankings are largely the result of an awful start before defensive coordinator Matt Patricia engineer quite an improvement after their 19-14 victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 5. 

However, if Brady is turning the ball over with some frequency, it will put heavy pressure on a defense that lacks a game-changing player and may not be able to hold up.

The Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams may all have a better chance to win than the Patriots. If wideout Antonio Brown can make a strong recovery from the calf injury he suffered in the Week 15 loss to the Patriots, the Steelers may be the best choice. If not, the Pats may have a good chance to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl.

The Philadelphia Eagles have the biggest problem among the top seeds as the playoffs get underway. Nick Foles is charged with leading the team following Carson Wentz's ACL injury and subsequent surgery. The Eagles offense slowed to a halt in the final two games of the season in the Week 16 win over the Oakland Raiders and the Week 17 loss to the Dallas Cowboys.

Head coach Doug Pederson is going to have to figure out a solution before the Eagles host their divisional playoff game January 14.

Super Bowl odds

New England Patriots, +210
Minnesota Vikings, +375
Pittsburgh Steelers, +525
New Orleans Saints, +750
Los Angeles Rams, +900
Philadelphia Eagles, +1200
Kansas City Chiefs, +1800
Jacksonville Jaguars, +2200
Carolina Panthers, +2500
Atlanta Falcons, +2500
Tennessee Titans, +7500
Buffalo Bills, +7500

Wesley Hitt/Getty Images

Wild Card Weekend odds 

(courtesy of OddsShark)

Matchup, Point Spread (Total), Selection

Tennessee Titans at Kansas City Chiefs: KC -9 (44), TEN (under)
Atlanta Falcons at Los Angeles Rams: LAR -6.5 (48.5), LAR (over)
Buffalo Bills at Jacksonville Jaguars: Jacksonville -9 (39.5), JAX (over)
Carolina Panthers at New Orleans Saints: NO -7 (48), NO (over)

Titans at Chiefs

The Kansas City Chiefs finished the regular season on a roll, winning their last four games of the regular season. That allowed them to win the AFC West, and that winning streak came after the Chiefs lost six of seven games and their season looked as if it was in jeopardy.

The Tennessee Titans won their final regular-season game against the Jacksonville Jaguars, and that allowed them to earn the No. 5 seed in the AFC playoffs.

The Titans are a fast and athletic team, but they have struggled to put a consistent offense on the field. Third-year quarterback Marcus Mariota is supposed to be the team's leader, but he took a step back in 2017 with a 13-15 touchdown-to-interception ratio.

While that is clearly not good enough, Mariota is a brilliant athlete and a talented player, and he is capable of having a good game. The Kansas City defense (28th in yards allowed) may be made to order for him because that unit does not have the speed or athleticism to contain the quarterback once he gets outside the pocket.

The Chiefs are heavy nine-point favorites, according to OddsShark, and when they can unleash running back Kareem Hunt and wideout Tyreek Hill, they can be formidable.

Quarterback Alex Smith looked like an MVP candidate in the first five weeks of the season and was close to that form in the final four weeks, but he was ineffective during the seven weeks in midseason.

There is not that big a difference between these two teams. We will take the points with the Titans and believe this game will go to the visitors with a late field goal.

Panthers at Saints

The Panthers rebounded quite well from a disastrous 2016 season in which they finished with a 6-10 record and in last place in the NFC South.

They finished 11-5 to earn a wild-card spot, and they were in contention for the NFC South crown and the No. 2 seed in the postseason until the final Sunday of the regular season.

Quarterback Cam Newton can be spectacular, but his inconsistency is quite troubling. He has a couple of special weapons in rookie running back Christian McCaffrey and tight end Greg Olsen, and the Panthers have a hard-hitting defense led by Luke Kuechly, Thomas Davis, Kawann Short and Julius Peppers.

The Saints were one of the top stories of the year, and their improvement was quite unexpected. In addition to another wonderful year from quarterback Drew Brees (72.0 completion rate, 23-8 TD-INT ratio), the Saints had a dependable running game with Mark Ingram and rookie Alvin Kamara and a much-improved defense.

The Saints ranked 17th in yardage allowed after ranking 31st or 32nd in 2015 and 2016. Cameron Jordan had a team-high 13 sacks, and free safety Vonn Bell led the team with 83 tackles.

The Saints get the more consistent play from the quarterback position and have home-field advantage. They have also beaten Carolina twice this season, and the Saints should be able to advance to the divisional playoffs as seven-point favorites.