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NFL playoffs betting power ratings: Final four teams present challenge to value correctly, plus early playoff picks

Get the edge over the sportsbooks in the playoffs by developing a power rating system to stay ahead of the lines

The Super Bowl champion will be one of the Kansas City Chiefs, Buffalo Bills, Philadelphia Eagles or Washington Commanders after all four teams made it through the divisional round. While valuing the Commanders correctly is difficult enough with the team pulling off two road upsets and continuing to overperform in high-leverage situations, it's almost more difficult to figure out how to value the other three teams remaining in the playoffs.

The Chiefs have been the gold standard since Patrick Mahomes took over, but the expected improvement for the offense didn't exactly come to fruition in the win over the Texans, with Kansas City outgained by a full yard per play and 124 yards overall. A long kickoff return to open the game helped, and a blocked field goal attempt helped seal the game, but anyone that came away from the win thinking these are the same old Chiefs destined to win a Super Bowl might be overconfident with the product on the field.

The Bills didn't do much on offense against the Ravens outside of two long TD drives, benefitting greatly from unexpected turnovers by Lamar Jackson to establish a lead and then hold on for dear life down the stretch. The defense gave up 7.3 yards per play to Baltimore while the offense managed just 4.6 yards per play, choosing to largely stick to the run game. If the Buffalo defense plays as poorly on a per-play basis this week, the Chiefs are almost certainly heading to the Super Bowl.

The Eagles entered the playoffs looking like the most complete team in football, and while Saquon Barkley has been every bit as good as advertised, the passing offense is a major problem, which is compounded by another injury to Jalen Hurts that may or may not affect his availability for the NFC Championship. Maybe Barkley and a defense that has created six turnovers in two playoff games can carry the team past the Commanders, but the Eagles need more from the passing game to beat either AFC contender.

Then we have the Commanders, who gave up 7.7 yards per play to the Lions but also managed five takeaways to pull away from the heavily-favored Lions. Jayden Daniels at his best seems capable of beating anyone, but facing this Eagles defense (even if Quinyon Mitchell is unavailable) is a different beast from their first two playoff matchups, and the Chiefs certainly are no pushover defensively either. Still, Washington may have the highest ceiling of any team remaining but almost certainly has the lowest floor.

With all that said, how do you value these teams when it comes to spread power ratings and creating projected lines for the AFC Championship and NFC Championship? I do the best I can below.

What are NFL spread power ratings? You can check out the explainer in how to build and maintain NFL power ratings in our Week 1 version of this column. Or, you can read on to see my ratings for every team and where I think the market is off this week. I went 636-534-34 (+4899) on ATS picks from 2017-23 and even better with my top five picks each week, going 428-327-25 (56.7%) from 2015-23 in the big Las Vegas spread picks contests. My power ratings have been a big part of maintaining that success. 

Which teams are being underrated by the betting market? And which spreads are the furthest off where they should be? ... Join SportsLine right now to see playoff NFL power ratings from the expert who's 636-534-34 on ATS picks from 2017-23, returning $4,899 to $100 players

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R.J. White
R.J. WhiteSuper Stat Geek

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