NFL Playoffs: Expert Picks For Eagles-49ers & Bengals-Chiefs

NFL Playoff Picks & Predictions

The 2023 NFL playoffs continue Sunday with the NFC conference championship between the 49ers and Eagles, followed by the AFC conference championship between the Bengals and Chiefs. To help you make the best bets this weekend, the BetQL editors have picked a few of their favorite bets below using key trends and data from the BetQL NFL model.

In the first two weeks of the playoffs, the BetQL NFL model has gone 37-16 (70%) on all picks for a total return of $1,080 on $100 bets, so don't miss out on this week's best bets! BetQL subscribers can see more betting trends and all of our NFL best bets, including player props, with star ratings for every game. Take advantage of BetQL's free trial and see all of this week's best NFL bets!

MORE: SPORTSBOOKS’ BEST PROMOS FOR NFL PLAYOFFS

NFC Championship: 49ers at Eagles

Dan Karpuc: Eagles -2.5 vs. 49ers

I picked the Eagles to win the Super Bowl before the playoffs started and I’m not backing down now. They completely manhandled the Giants by the score of 38-7 in the divisional round and are elite on both sides of the football. The Brock Purdy story is fantastic, but I can see this Philadelphia defense forcing him to make mistakes. Nobody has been able to stop Philly’s offense all year long and while San Francisco’s defense is elite, the secondary will have fits trying to defend A.J. Brown, DeVonta Smith and Dallas Goedert while also keeping an eye on the elusive Jalen Hurts, who can take it to the house every time he decides to pull it and run. Overall, the Eagles are the best team in the league, in my opinion, and I expect them to keep performing up to their elite standard. Philly has gone 8-2 SU (7-3 ATS) at home this season and Lincoln Financial field is arguably the best home-field advantage in the entire NFL. I’ll tease this up to 6.5 as well.

Kate Constable: 49ers-Eagles Under 45.5

I expect this game to be low-scoring, thanks to both teams’ elite defenses. The Niners have the league's best defense and will be the toughest unit that Jalen Hurts has seen in quite some time. However, one area where San Fran’s defense struggles is containing perimeter receivers and that’s not going to get any easier going against A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith. Despite that flaw, I expect the 49ers to be able to slow down a Philly run game that rushed for 268 yards against the Giants. While Brock Purdy has been phenomenal for the 49ers, I could see Kyle Shanahan being a little bit more conservative in his play calling, which would result in the offense moving downfield at a slower pace than usual.

Lucy Burdge: 49ers +2 at Eagles

I have a really good feeling about the 49ers here and I think they can not only cover this spread, but take down the Eagles and move on to the Super Bowl. The Eagles have also failed to cover in four of their last five games, while the 49ers have only failed to cover the spread once in their last 10 games. So I like the 49ers to keep it going here and cover this spread.

Brad Pinkerton: 49ers-Eagles +190 One-Game Parlay

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Here is my play for Sunday, using the strategy of going over the lowest game total and under the highest game total (can only lose a maximum of one leg there), and taking the most points on both teams' alt lines (can only lose one leg here too); you can apply this strategy to any football game:

49ers-Eagles Over 35.5
49ers-Eagles Under 55.5
49ers +12.5
Eagles +7.5
OGP Odds: +190

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FULL BETTING GUIDE: 49ERS AT EAGLES

AFC Championship: Bengals at Chiefs

Kate Constable: Bengals +1.5 at Chiefs

Did you see Joe Cool on Sunday? There’s no way I’m betting against him right now, especially with a hobbled Patrick Mahomes on the other side of the field. I fully expect Mahomes to play on Sunday, and while an injured Mahomes is still far better than most other quarterbacks in the league, the Bengals defense has been huge over the last month, holding opponents under 20 points in six of their last eight games. If that unit can get to Mahomes and force him out of the pocket, that’s going to mean trouble for someone playing on a high ankle sprain. Plus, Cincinnati doesn’t seem to be as fazed as other teams when it comes to playing at Arrowhead.

Dan Karpuc: Bengals +1.5 at Chiefs

When asked how long Cincinnati's Super Bowl window would be open, Joe Burrow recently told reporters, "The window's my whole career. … And everybody we have in that locker room, all the coaches we have, things are gonna change year to year, but our window is always open." After going into Buffalo and absolutely beating down the Bills in the snow, I’m not going to fade Joe Cool in this spot. While the Chiefs and Patrick Mahomes have been a dynamic offensive bunch all year even without Tyreek Hill, they’ve shown an inability to put teams away and have gone just 3-6 ATS at home despite their 8-1 SU record. The Bengals have gone 7-3 SU (8-2 ATS) on the road and are one of the few teams that thrives in that setting. Since Week 2, they’ve failed to cover the spread one time (on Halloween) on the road! I’ll grab them +1.5 points for more safety, but I’ll also be betting their moneyline as I am more confident in them winning this game outright.

Lucy Burdge: Bengals +100 at Chiefs

The Bengals are full of confidence coming into this game after dominating the Bills, and Joe Burrow is 3-0 against Patrick Mahomes. Speaking of Mahomes, he’ll very likely not be at 100 percent after his ankle injury against the Jaguars, which is a factor certainly in favor of the Bengals. The Bengals also beat the Chiefs, 27-24, this season, and I think they can take them down again in the AFC title game for the second straight season.

Brad Pinkerton: Bengals-Chiefs Under 47.5

Patrick Mahomes' injury has caused this total to come in lower than expected, and while I still like the under here, I'm going to wait until we get confirmation on Mahomes' status because the total should tick up again if he's playing (he's playing), getting us better value. I'm hunting the under not only because of Mahomes' injury, but some interesting trends stacking up on the under as well. The Chiefs are 2-7 O/U at home plus the Bengals are 3-6 O/U on the road, making the under 13-5 between these two teams in this spot. Also, the under has hit in all six of the Bengals' non-division AFC games and in all three games where Cincy was the road 'dog. Oh, and K.C. is just 4-10 O/U after a win. Add in a limping Mahomes, and the under looks pretty good here.

FULL BETTING GUIDE: BENGALS AT CHIEFS

MORE PICKS: NFC PLAYER PROPS | AFC PLAYER PROPS

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