NFL Playoff Picture 2018: Updated Title Odds and Most Compelling Scenarios

The NFL heavyweights get back into action this weekend in the divisional playoffs, and fans will have an opportunity to see the most compelling football of the season.

That has often been the case during the divisional playoffs, and this year should be no different.

Usually, the top seeds are favored in this round, but the sixth-seeded Atlanta Falcons are favored by 2.5 points on the road over the top-seeded Philadelphia Eagles, according to OddsShark.

The Eagles were the best team in the league for the majority of the regular season, but their high-functioning offense suffered a huge blow when star quarterback Carson Wentz suffered an ACL injury in Week 14 against the Los Angeles Rams.

Backup Nick Foles came in and performed well in his first start the following week against the New York Giants, but the Philadelphia offense struggled badly in the final two weeks of the season.

If Foles can't perform well against the Falcons, the Eagles will have a hard time surviving this game and advancing in the postseason.

The Eagles prospects for winning the title have slipped dramatically. They are only the fifth choice among the eight teams remaining, with odds of plus-1200.

The New England Patriots and Minnesota Vikings are the two favorites, and here's a look at the championship prices for all the contenders, per OddsShark.

Super Bowl odds

New England Patriots, +210
Minnesota Vikings, +375
Pittsburgh Steelers, +525
New Orleans Saints, +750
Philadelphia Eagles, +1200
Jacksonville Jaguars, +2200
Atlanta Falcons, +2500
Tennessee Titans, +7500

While full credit goes to the Jaguars and the Titans for making the playoffs and beating the Buffalo Bills and Kansas City Chiefs, respectively, in the wild-card round, neither of those teams would be involved in the matchup that is most compelling in the AFC championship game.

Keith Srakocic/Associated Press

The Patriots and the Steelers are the top two seeds in the AFC, and they are the teams most likely to put on a spectacular show in the conference championship.

Those two teams played in one of the regular season's most entertaining games when the Patriots edged the Steelers 27-24 in Week 15, and that victory helped Bill Belichick's team earn home-field advantage in the AFC playoffs.

However, the Steelers may be in a much better position if they survive their divisional playoff game against Jacksonville than they were in the first meeting with New England. That's because All-Pro wideout Antonio Brown suffered a calf injury early in that game and the Steelers did not have him throughout the majority of it.

Brown is planning to play in the divisional playoffs, and if he is healthy, that could give the Steelers the edge they need in this game and the conference championship.

The NFC story appears much more compelling. If the Eagles can regain their offensive footing and beat the Falcons, they would host the second-seeded Vikings or the fourth-seeded Saints. Either of those games would be dynamic.

If the Falcons come up with the upset, they would play at Minnesota or at New Orleans in the NFC title game.

An Atlanta-Minnesota matchup would be a rematch of the 1998 NFC title game that saw the Falcons upset the Vikings and earn a spot in the Super Bowl. That was a painful loss for a Vikings team that went 15-1 during the regular season. 

If the Saints win, it would set up an all-NFC South title game between two of the most exciting teams in the league.

If the Saints earn a victory over the Vikings and play the Eagles in the NFC championship game, it would probably be the least compelling of the potential NFC title matchups, but it would still capture the public's attention.

New Orleans is led by quarterback Drew Brees, and he would get a great challenge from Philadelphia's hard-hitting and athletic defense.