NFL Playoffs 2019: Super Bowl Odds For Saints, Chiefs, Eagles, and More

The NFL Wild Card Weekend – with four games on the docket – falls upon revved-up fans on Saturday and Sunday, followed by the Divisional Round on January 12 and 13, then the AFC/NFC Conference Championships on January 20.

The New Orleans Saints, which won a Super Bowl in 2010 behind quarterback supreme Drew Brees, remains the best bet to win the Super Bowl this year, reports OddsShark.

Super Bowl 53 is slated for February 3 this year in Atlanta.

"We have reached the playoffs and heading into Wild Card Weekend we are able to eliminate some teams vying for a Super Bowl ring this year," reports OddsShark. "Oddsmakers still have the New Orleans Saints as the favorites to win it all and the gap has widened as we confirmed the 12 teams that have advanced to the postseason."

Other favorites trailing the Saints are the Los Angeles Rams, the Kansas City Chiefs, the New England Patriots and the Chicago Bears, according to OddsShark and Bovada, an online sports gambling site.

Meanwhile, two sports media outlets break down the chances of teams during what is usually a wild and wooly Wild Card Weekend.

In keeping with common speculation, Sporting News unanimously predicts the 13-3 Saints has the best chance of winning the NFC on January 13.

"New Orleans is simply the best team in the league and has been for most of the season," writes Sporting News' Tadd Haislop. "The defense and running game is in great shape heading into the playoffs, ready to compliment Brees' precise passing. There are no true weaknesses on this team. "

As for the AFC, the Philip Rivers-led, 12-4 Los Angeles Chargers garner the most Sporting News staff votes:

"Why back down now from our preseason pick for AFC champions when they're strong entrants in the tournament?" lauds Vinnie Iyer. "They have proved to be a mighty, fearless road team, and with Rivers, Melvin Gordon and Keenan Allen getting more help of late, they can move the ball on anyone. They also have defenders who can take turns taking over games such as Joey Bosa, Melvin Ingram, Casey Hayward and James."

Sporting News consensus is that the Chargers have the best chance "to win it all." The Chargers racked up a 7-1 record on the road and split with the dynamic 12-4 Kansas City Chiefs to place second in the AFC West. Meanwhile, Rivers is having perhaps the best year of his career.

The Chargers play the 10-6 AFC champion Baltimore Ravens on Sunday in a wild-card match-up.

"The Chargers have a top-10 defense, and Philip Rivers is back in the playoffs for the first time since 2013," writes Sporting News' Bill Bender. "It's a boom-or-bust pick, but this is Rivers's best shot to get to a Super Bowl in a long time. "

As for upsets, the 13-3 Los Angeles Rams, tops in the NFC West, are a good bet to be toppled. They play the winner of the wild card winner of the Seahawks vs. Cowboys or Eagles vs. Bears – all tough draws. Sporting News' David Steele says the Rams are vulnerable:

"For multiple reasons — Cooper Kupp's absence, Todd Gurley's odd combo of injuries and strange usage, their secondary flaws and the beatings they took from late-surging contenders in the Bears and Eagles — they are looking vulnerable at the wrong time. Their potential opponents (Bears, Seahawks, Cowboys) all can D up strong."

One of the most trustworthy offenses heading into the Wild Card weekend is the Chiefs, powered by rookie phenom quarterback Patrick Mahomes, a maestro at off-balance, odd-angle passes. Mahomes threw 50 touchdowns this season as the Chiefs average 26 points per game.

"The Chiefs led the league in yards per game (425.6) and points per game (35.3) in a year in which offenses as a whole were breaking NFL records," writes Tadd Haislop. " Their quarterback put up numbers only Peyton Manning has managed in the league. Even without Hunt, the creativity of Andy Reid's offense and the skill of Mahomes gives Kansas City the most trustworthy unit. "

The 12-4 Chicago Bears have allowed only 17.7 points per game this season, so Sporting News unanimously selects them as the top defense in the entire NFL league. They are the NFC North champions.

"The Ravens, Texans and Cowboys have their cases. But all of those teams can struggle at times in the secondary and don't always get the sacks and takeaways needed to turn games," writes Iyer . "The Bears have the superior stuffers and ball hawks on every level and the most disruptive edge rusher in the playoffs in Mack. "

Joe Tansey of Bleacher Report gives the edge and odds to two Super Bowl-winning quarterbacks, Russell Wilson of the Seattle Seahawks and Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles, in their Wild Card match-ups.

More specifically, Tansey predicts that Seattle will trim the Dallas Cowboys, 20-14, and that the defense-minded Chicago Bears will upend the defending Super Bowl champion Eagles, 21-13, on Saturday.