Welp, 520 games down. Three to go.
Only two weekends-worth of NFL games remain. And those two weekends promise to be filled with fireworks.
The two conference championships Sunday feature the four highest-scoring teams during the regular season: No. 1 (Kansas City Chiefs) vs. No. 4 (New England Patriots), and No. 2 (Los Angeles Rams) at No. 3 (New Orleans Saints).
All four averaged better than 27 points per game and field middling-to-not-so-great defenses.
In the NFC Championship, a rematch of a high-scoring Week 9 matchup, in which New Orleans held off visiting Los Angeles 45-35. In the AFC Championship, a grudge match of opponents from Week 6, when New England edged past Kansas City 43-40 in Foxborough.
To boot, NFL postseason history’s third-largest age gap among starting quarterbacks (New Orleans’ Drew Brees, 40, and LA’s Jared Goff 24) and the league’s largest age gap (New England’s Tom Brady, 41, and Kansas City’s Patrick Mahomes, 23).
Stories abound. Super Bowl LIII awaits its entrants.
But we’re not here for stories. We’re here for sports betting.
As such, the attention of NJ sports betting turns to BetStars NJ and the odds on top for Sunday. (All point spreads and moneylines are as of Thursday.)
Add ’em to your NJ sports betting slip
Los Angeles Rams (13-3) at New Orleans Saints (13-3)
History does not favor the NFC West champion Rams.
Each of past five conference winners hosted the NFC Championship, setting up the Saints for their first conference crown since 2009, which, incidentally, was the last time the franchise appeared in the game.
Earlier this season, in New Orleans’ 10-point win, Brees threw for 346 yards (211 to Michael Thomas) and four TDs (to four different players) while RB Alvin Kamara rushed for 82 yards and two scores.
Goff had a solid game in his own right, with 391 yards and three TDs, while RB Todd Gurley II, his one TD notwithstanding, was limited to 68 yards rushing.
As they have been for the majority of the second half of the season, the Saints enter as favorites, by three points, while an outright win by the Rams pays +150.
For consideration: When Gurley rushes for a touchdown, which he’s done 18 times this season, the Rams hold an 8-2 record. At BetStars, users can cash in on said achievement via the platforms Odds Boost, as a Gurley TD coupled with a Rams victory pays +250.
The same payout stands for if Gurley rushes for more than 100 yards and a score, which he’s done five times this season, including last week. (Forewarning, though, that Gurley has not done so in consecutive weeks since 2015.)
Additionally, a Saints win paired with either a Kamara TD or a Thomas TD pays +110 and +140, respectively. New Orleans has gone 7-1 (the lone loss coming in the season opener) when either happens.
Among the other Odds Boosts, Brees passing for over 300 yards with Thomas recording 100 or more receiving yards goes for +200. Brees has topped that mark seven times this season, five in which Thomas also reached his set goal.
As for traditional props, BetStars offers alternative total points for the game.
- Over/under 49.5: -333/+225
- Over/under 53.5: -182/+130
- Over/under 59.5: +130/-182
- Over/under 63.5: +220/-333
For both LA and New Orleans, eight games featured total points under 49.5. The Rams, though, had six games go over 63.5; four for the Saints. (Six of the last seven games for New Orleans went under 49.5.)
The first-half moneyline pegs LA at +135 and the Saints at -188. The Rams 4-2-2 in opening halves on the road, while New Orleans has gone 5-4 at home. BetStars lists the first-quarter moneyline at +120 for LA and -167 for the Saints. The Rams have gone 4-1-3 in first quarters this season, with their only setback coming against the Saints earlier this year. As for New Orleans, all five opening quarters won this year came at home.
New England Patriots (11-5) at Kansas City Chiefs (12-4)
Including the playoffs, Tom Brady has made 67 straight starts with his team favored, the longest such streak in the Super Bowl era. That could end this weekend.
As three-point underdogs, the Patriots make their eight straight appearance in the AFC Championship, seeking their fourth conference title in five years.
On the other side, behind MVP front-runner Mahomes, Kansas City appears in its first conference championship (second ever) since 1993. And it’s the Chiefs’ first-ever at home as they seek their first Super Bowl bid since 1970.
Home teams in the AFC Championship have won five straight and 11 of the past 12. Though New England has gone 8-3 in conference title games in the Brady era.
In Week 6, Mahomes racked up 352 yards and four TDs (three to Tyreek Hill, one to Travis Kelce) but was also picked off twice. Hill and Kelce combined for 247 yards receiving. Brady amassed 340 yards and a TD, and RB Sony Michel posted 106 rushing yards and two TDs for the Pats, who led 24-9 yet still needed a last-second field goal to win it.
For weeks, sportsbooks have favored a New Orleans-Kansas City showdown for the Lombardi Trophy. A New England upset, though, pays +135. This deep into the playoffs, it becomes more difficult to bet against New England.
As for Odds Boosts, BetStars a Kelce TD coupled with a Kansas City win at +150. Kelce has 10 TDs this season, and the Chiefs have gone 6-1 in those games. Similarly, a Hill TD and a KC win pays out +165; Hill has 12 TDs this year, with the Chiefs going 5-2.
Ten times this season Mahomes has passed for 300 or more yards, with Hill going for over 100 in three of those games. Such a feat earns +200 from BetStars.
For the Pats, a 100-yard, 1-touchdown outing from Michel pays +225. Michel has done so five times this year, including twice in the past three games. (For what it’s worth, when Michel accomplishes this feat, the Patriots are 5-0.)
Other props for this game:
- First-quarter moneyline: New England +115, Kansas City -162
- First-half moneyline: New England +120, Kansas City -162
- Second-half moneyline: New England +100, Kansas City -137
The Chiefs have dominated first quarters and halves this season: 8-1 at home in the opening quarter and 9-0 in the first half. New England’s worst starts to games happen on the road: 1-6-1 in opening quarters, 3-4-1 in first halves.
Lastly, BetStars set the first-quarter over/under and spread at 10.5 points and Kansas City -0.5, respectively. On the road, the Patriots have averaged just over four points per game in the opening quarter, while the Chiefs have scored 10 per game.
Championship Stars Stacks, Super Boosts + Super Bowl odds at BetStars
Keep this short and sweet.
BetStars offers what they call “Conference Championship Stars Stacks” for championship weekend. Included:
- New Orleans’ Michael Thomas and Alvin Kamara both score a TD: 5/2
- LA Rams’ Todd Gurley II and Robert Woods both score a TD: 11/4
- Kansas City’s Tyreek Hill and Travis Kelce both score a TD: 3/1
- New England’s Julian Edelman and Sony Michel both score a TD: 15/4
In addition, bettors can capitalize on BetStars’ “Conference Championship Super Boost” to cash in on better odds for the underdogs. By taking both New England and Los Angeles to win, BetStars will pay 6/1 odds.
Lastly, the current Super Bowl odds at BetStars NJ online sportsbook:
- New Orleans Saints 7/4
- Kansas City Chiefs 5/2
- New England Patriots 7/2
- Los Angeles Rams 15/4
Where else to bet online in New Jersey
As it has been well-documented, New Jersey features an array of mobile sports betting options.
Nine mobile sportsbooks complement the nine retail operations in the Garden State:
- DraftKings Sportsbook
- PlayMGM Sport
- SugarHouse Sportsbook
- FanDuel Sportsbook
- William Hill NJ (now Caesars)
- Caesars Sportsbook
- 888 Sportsbook
- BetStars NJ
- PointsBet
The list of NJ sportsbook apps includes a deep variety of traditional moneylines, parlays, in-game betting and futures.