NFL Playoff Betting Odds

Ever since the NFL was formed in 1920 as the American Professional Football Association, the playoffs have been the major event at the end of every NFL season.

Fast-forward to the AFL & NFL merger and Super Bowl Era, two conferences would compete with the aim of representing their conference in the Super Bowl.

The winners of each division, plus two wild-card teams from each conference will advance to the playoffs with the winner of the wildcard game going onto face the league winner to determine the NFC/AFC champion, representing their conference in that seasons Super Bowl.

Since that split, the playoffs have expanded with 14 teams taking part, the top seven teams in each conference qualify.

Betting on teams to win the playoffs

During the regular season, 32 teams are divided into the AFC and NFC conferences, each conference has four divisions.

During the season, teams have a 17-week schedule, hosting 16 games and one bye week. The top seven teams in each conference qualify for the playoffs. Division winners are seeded in 1st to 4th positions while remaining spots are filled by wild-card teams who had the best records but didn't win their division. You can review the playoffs as a whole to review who is most likely to win each conference.

Betting on the Wild Card Playoff round

During the Wild Card round, the two wildcard teams in each conference face-off against each other. The team that is the top seed in each conference receive a bye and do not participate in this round. So, for each conference, you would find the 2nd seed taking on the 7th seed, the 3rd seed taking on the 6th seed and the 4th seed taking on the 5th seed. The winners of each round progress to the Divisional round.

Betting on the divisional playoffs

In the division round, the three winners of the Wild Card matches and the highest seeded side face off against each other in each conference and each conference is then reseeded. With the two matches determining which teams qualify for the Conference Championship game. The winners of the Conference Championship game will go on be crowned Champions and face-off against each other for the richest prize in American Football - the Super Bowl.

NFL playoff betting markets

Similar to [betting on NFL games, there are a wide range of betting markets for these games, such as moneyline bets, betting on the point spread, total points (also known as over/under betting), quarter/half betting and a lot more!

The NFL Playoffs are particularly popular for the bet builder, this allows players to delve deeper into player performances during the game such as who has the most yards for passing or rushing, who scores a touchdown and more. As during the playoffs, there is a significant amount of data available to back-up bets and by this point in the season, bettors often have a better idea of how individual players are going to perform.

Betting on the AFC Championship game

In recent years, the winner of the AFC Championship game has more often than not managed to win the Super Bowl, so the AFC Championship game has massive implications on Super Bowl.

The AFC Championship consists of some of the best teams in the division, so be sure to check out what teams are playing who in a postseason game and determine which teams could end up with a playoff win.

Betting on the NFC Championship game

When it comes to progressing to the Super Bowl, there is a guarantee that an NFC team will make it to the dance but when looking at the NFC Championship game, the team to make it there is likely to be different most years.

In the last ten years, only three NFC teams have won the Super Bowl but you can bet on the NFC Championship winner by backing a team to make it to the Super Bowl.