Super Bowl 2019: AFC, NFC Conference Championship Predictions and Vegas Odds

Football purists who still love a defensive grind will despise Sunday's NFL conference championship showdowns.

To most viewers' delight, the season's top-four scoring offenses remain standing. Each division champion triumphed in the divisional round after earning an opening bye, and they also each finished as a top-five offense in Football Outsiders' defensive-adjusted value over average (DVOA).

These titillating pairings both produced fireworks during the season. Back in Week 6, the New England Patriots won a 43-40 thriller over the Kansas City Chiefs in a brawl featuring 946 total yards. No fan could be blamed for fantasizing about a rematch for the Lamar Hunt Trophy.

Three weeks later, the New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Rams combined for 970 yards in a 45-35 epic won by Sean Payton's squad. The Superdome will again host the two high-octane offenses, this time for the NFC crown.

Early odds on OddsShark set the table for a classic Sunday. Much like their in-season encounters, Vegas anticipates two evenly matched shootouts. Expect these juggernauts to meet the gaudy hype.

AFC: New England Patriots at Kansas City Chiefs

Odds: Kansas City (-3); Over/Under (55)

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Location makes all the difference in the AFC Championship Game spread. 

The Patriots won the first playoff bout at Gillette Stadium, where they solidified the NFL's only undefeated home record. On the road, they went 3-5 with losses to the likes of Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins.

Kansas City, meanwhile, has gone 8-1 at Arrowhead Stadium after last Saturday's 31-13 victory over the Indianapolis Colts. They have outscored the opposition by 133 points at home.

Per ESPN.com's Mike Reiss, Patriots head coach Bill Belichick is focused more on the opponent than the venue. 

"The hardest thing about playing at Arrowhead is the Chiefs," Belichick said, "and they are a great football team, the top seed in the AFC this year. Obviously, they're very good. Playing them anywhere is hard."

After upending the Los Angeles Chargers, Tom Brady played the proverbial nobody-believed-in-us card. He can't be referring to oddsmakers, which hadn't situated the legendary quarterback as an underdog since 2014 before the upcoming contest:

According to Vegas Insider, Brady's Patriots have entered nine of 12 AFC Championship Games as favorites. They have only stumbled once when favored (2012 to the Baltimore Ravens) while losing the last two title clashes (both against Peyton Manning on the road) as underdogs.

Yet there's a path to victory. Exceptional at attacking an opponent's vulnerability, New England should pound the ball against a defense that ended the regular season last in Football Outsiders' DVOA against the run. Count on another busy weekend from Sony Michel, who accrued 129 yards and three touchdowns on 24 handoffs against the Chargers.

They also must duplicate last week's swarming pressure on Philip Rivers against Patrick Mahomes, whom they didn't sack once in Week 6.

The MVP favorite will slice open the season's 22nd-ranked passing defense if given time:

Like their last encounter, when Stephen Gostkowski booted a game-winning field goal as time expired, this matchup could boil down to which potent offense gets the ball last. Yet New England hasn't shown enough on the road to pick at Arrowhead against the Chiefs, who suffered their four losses (all to playoff squads) by merely 14 combined points. 

Prediction: Chiefs 31, Patriots 27 

NFC: Los Angeles Rams at New Orleans Saints

Odds: New Orleans (-3.5); Over/Under (57.5)

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After spending the week hyping his success inside the Superdome, Drew Brees went 28-of-38 for 301 yards, two touchdowns and one pick in a 20-14 win over the Philadelphia Eagles.

In terms of quarterback rating (103.1), it marked his worst home performance this season.

Those 20 points also represented a home low for the Saints with Brees under center. The future Hall of Fame passer, who turned 40 on Tuesday, is now averaging 9.3 yards per attempt in New Orleans.

Another quarterback who particularly enjoyed home cooking, Jared Goff's quarterback rating slid from an elite 116.7 to a pedestrian 82.7 on the road. He mustered 10 passing touchdowns and nine interceptions away from the Coliseum.

Yet facing the regular season's fourth-worst passing defense indoors should help. It did when he recorded 391 passing yards and three touchdowns in Week 9's loss.

He also, however, benefitted from Cooper Kupp registering 89 yards and a touchdown against the Saints before tearing his ACL the following week.

Goff's performance has slid considerably without his star slot receiver:

Todd Gurley and C.J. Anderson each eclipsed 100 rushing yards against the Dallas Cowboys, but the Rams will need Goff to assume a larger role versus the Saints. After sporting the season's second-best rushing defense behind the Chicago Bears, New Orleans limited the Philadelphia Eagles to 49 yards on 16 runs.

The Saints have an explosive rushing tandem of their own in Alvin Kamara and Mark Ingram, who collected 152 combined yards (and three Kamara touchdowns) when defeating the Rams. These backs face a defense permitting 4.9 yards per carry despite stuffing Ezekiel Elliott (20 rushes for 47 yards) in the divisional round.

Los Angeles, however, can't load the box with Brees steering a crisp aerial offense. New Orleans can beat an opponent in too many ways. An improving secondary should also slow down Goff's crew enough to survive another shootout.

Prediction: Saints 35, Rams 27