NFL fans — and television networks — lost out on a potential Cowboys-49ers NFC title game, but they gained an iconic Divisional Playoff matchup when Green Bay pulled a massive wild-card upset at Dallas.
Two legendary franchises will square off in primetime on Saturday night when the Packers visit the 49ers for their NFL record 10th all-time postseason meeting. The previous nine have all come in the past three decades, with San Francisco holding a four-game playoff winning streak over Green Bay.
The 49ers are heavily favored to make it five. The hosts and No. 1 seed in the NFC opened as consensus 9.5-point favorites. The line shifted to 10.0 at BetMGM despite the Packers being backed by 71 percent of the spread-line bets and 58 percent of the money.
The book reported Tuesday that the matchup leads all Divisional Playoff games in several categories: It’s the most bet game overall, the 50.5 points has been the most popular Over/Under market, and the Packers have been the heaviest-backed team at +10.0 points as well as in underdog moneyline bets at +375.
The Packers-49ers matchup has also drawn the most action at DraftKings, with Green Bay also backed by the most total spread-line bets while the 49ers have been the most popular moneyline play.
Green Bay is coming off a 48-32 win at Dallas. Some view it as clearing the path for San Francisco, which now avoids a potential matchup against the No. 2 seed entering the playoffs. Others see it as a young Packers team coming of age.
Green Bay’s moneyline opened at +350 at BetMGM but moved to +375 with one-sided action with 86 percent of the total bets and 87 percent of the money, compared to 14 and 13 percent for the heavily favored 49ers at -500.
Packers wide receiver Romeo Doubs, who is coming off a six-catch, 151-yard performance at Dallas, is being offered at -170 by DraftKings to top 60.5 receiving yards against the 49ers. That has been the most popular player prop at the book thus far.
While San Francisco was idle over the weekend, the 49ers saw their odds as the Super Bowl favorite trimmed from +225 to +175 at BetMGM. The Packers are still +2800 longshots, although that is down significantly from +8000 before the Cowboys game.
“We’ve been counted out a lot of the season, but everybody keeps battling, keeps competing,” said Packers quarterback Jordan Love, whose team started 2-5. “I think it’s just noise on the outside. We’re not worried about it. We keep coming out here and showing what we’re about, and that’s what we’re going to do.”
The second most popular game has been Buffalo playing host to Kansas City, the first road playoff game of Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes’ career.
The Bills are 2.5-point favorites and have been backed by 67 percent of the spread-line money despite coming out of Monday’s win over Pittsburgh with several key injuries on defense. While Buffalo has been the third-most bet team in terms of spread-line tickets, Kansas City’s +120 moneyline has also been the second-most popular in that market.
The Divisional Playoffs will begin with Houston at No. 1 AFC seed Baltimore on Saturday. The 9.5-point line has seen the underdog Texans backed by 71 percent of the bets and 53 percent of the handle. Houston has been the second-most popular team in terms of spread-line bets.
Baltimore also enjoyed a bye week, and the Ravens saw their Super Bowl odds shift from +325 to +275 after No. 5 seed Cleveland and No. 6 Miami were eliminated.
The fourth game of the Divisional Playoffs features Tampa Bay at Detroit. The Lions have held as a 6.0-point favorite, drawing 67 and 59 percent of the action, respectively. It has seen the smallest action among the four matchups in spread-line bets and in wagers on the 46.0-point Over/Under.
SUPER BOWL ODDS*
(Wild Card to Divisional Round)
–49ers +225 to +175
–Ravens +325 to +275
–Bills +650 to +500
–Chiefs +900 to +700
–Lions +2000 to +900
–Buccaneers +6600 to +2800
–Packers +8000 to +2800
–Texans +4000 to +3000
*BetMGM
