Super Bowl 2018: Latest Odds, Predictions and More for NFL Championship Game

NFL fans and those who like to play odds will either see something special with the 2018 Super Bowl—or more of the same. 

Same, because Tom Brady and the New England Patriots remain alive going into championship weekend. That said, a refreshing storyline such as the Jacksonville Jaguars making a full-blown resurgence could command the attention. So too could perseverance through serious injuries, a potential showcase put on by either the Minnesota Vikings or Philadelphia Eagles. 

Over at Odds Shark, the Patriots are, of course, the favorite to win it all (+105), with those Jaguars having the longest shot. But as this oddly entertaining season and postseason have shown so far, the unexpected isn't exactly impossible anymore. 

We'll know more soon, with the divisional title games careering right at fans in a matter of days. 

Championship Weekend 

Game: Jacksonville Jaguars at New England Patriots

Date and Time: Sunday, January 21, at 3:05 p.m. ET

TV/Live Stream: CBS, CBS All Access

Odds: New England (-9), O/U 46.5

Prediction: Patriots 27, Jaguars 24

Game: Minnesota Vikings at Philadelphia Eagles

Date and Time: Sunday, January 21, 6:40 p.m. ET

TV/Live Stream: Fox, Fox Sports Go

Odds: Minnesota (-3) O/U 38

Prediction: Vikings 30, Eagles 20

Championship Weekend Predictions 

Quarterbacks will decide championship weekend. 

Sounds like a conservative prediction—until one looks at the quarterbacks not named Brady left standing. Case Keenum, Nick Foles and Blake Bortles aren't exactly the first names most would have predicted to make it this far. 

In the AFC, though, Bortles isn't going to outshoot Brady in New England. His Jaguars did a great job of moving past the Pittsburgh Steelers in 45-42 fashion thanks to an early lead. But he isn't grabbing an early lead on Brady, whose experience alone has the Patriots at a serious advantage, as ESPN illustrated: 

The Jaguars only asked Bortles to attempt 26 passes during a win over the Steelers, a team that seemed to enter overconfident and looking at the Patriots, not the Jaguars. A Brady-led Patriots team at home isn't going to make the same mistake, and if the New England defense keeps an athletic spy on Bortles to keep him in the pocket, his offense won't do much scoring. 

It's a similar story in the NFC. The Eagles have done an incredible job of sheer survival after the injury to MVP contender Carson Wentz, winning two of three with Foles under enter to close the season before keeping Matt Ryan and the Atlanta Falcons in check during a 15-10 win. 

But in that win, Foles didn't throw a touchdown, instead riding a home crowd and choke job by the Falcons. Now he'll have to withstand a Vikings team with an unstoppable-looking defense and the capable Keenum, who completed 67.6 percent of his passes with 22 touchdowns against seven interceptions during the regular season. 

The Vikings, road game or not, after moving past Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints writes itself, though a note from NFL Research sure doesn't hurt: 

Foles against this defense isn't going to end well for the Eagles, creating one of the bigger "what if?" storylines in recent memory. 

Super Bowl

In the end, New England-Minnesota is one of the more predictable Super Bowl matchups, though it doesn't mean the tug-of-war match between Brady and the Vikings defense would fail to entertain. 

Those Vikings, after all, have now moved past Brees twice and also upended quarterbacks like Jared Goff, Kirk Cousins and Matt Ryan. 

But Brady is simply on a different level—ask Tennessee Titans cornerback Logan Ryan, a guy who spent four years with the Patriots. 

"It's the first time going against him in a game, but he was pretty clean," Ryan said, according to Rob Bradford of WEEI.com. "He was as good as I've seen him. ... It was about as good as I've seen him in the game. He was ready."

Brady didn't have any problems with Ryan's Titans in his playoff debut this year, throwing for 337 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-14 rout. On paper, he wouldn't have too many issues with Minnesota's defense either, provided the offense schemes to negate quick pressures, which is something his offense is built to do considering he tossed at least three receiving touchdowns to six different targets this year. 

Stew Milne/Associated Press

This potential Super Bowl could serve as a case study for the snowball effect. Minnesota's defense is elite, but the team falling behind because of a Brady touchdown skews things. The Vikings have to predictably pass more in an effort to keep pace and the Patriots get to sit on the ball more while the Vikings defense plays out of worse field position than usual. 

Don't forget the mentioned experience factor, either. The Patriots are a favorite against any of the remaining competition for a reason. This season has been a wild ride filled with the unexpected, but if it's going to correct course, it'll happen with four teams left standing.

Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Odds according to OddsShark.