Conference Championship Weekend: NFL First Quarter Line Shopping

• Bovada has the first-quarter total for NFC Championship Game at 14 points.
• BetMGM has the first-quarter total for the NFC Championship Game set at 9.5 points.

KANSAS CITY – Going into the AFC and NFC Championship games, NFL bettors should be looking for the best possible bets to make. In doing so, they should be shopping lines between sportsbooks for the lines that can turn out profitable on one site and not the other.

Sometimes bettors can even look to shop lines on legal betting sites such as Bovada and state-regulated sites like BetMGM.

Bettors looking to bet on the first quarter of the Championship games should be shopping lines between Bovada and BetMGM as both lines offer plenty of value. Starting with the AFC Championship Game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Buffalo Bills, the spread on both sites is set at 0.5 points.

Bovada: Kansas City Chiefs Vs. Buffalo Bills 1Q

• Moneyline: Chiefs (-150) vs. Bills (+125)
• Spread: Chiefs -0.5 (+105) Bills +0.5 (-135)
• Total: 10 Points

BetMGM: Kansas City Chiefs Vs. Buffalo Bills 1Q

• Moneyline: Chiefs (-143) vs. Bills (+115)
• Spread: Chiefs -0.5 (Even) Bills +0.5 (-125)
• Total: 10.5 Points

Starting with the Moneyline on both sites, money can be made betting on either one. Those looking to bet on the Chiefs can see that BetMGM is slightly less expensive than Bovada, but when betting on the Bills, Bovada would offer a larger payout being that the line has positive odds.

As for the game itself, the Bills could potentially help bettors cash out as they have won the first quarter in their last two games while the Chiefs have gone 1-1 in the first quarter in their last two games.

Also, the Bills rank number one in the league this season when it comes to points allowed in the first quarter.

Looking at the spread, both sites have it set the same at a half-point in favor of the Chiefs, but bettors can find a better return betting on the Chiefs to cover on Bovada rather than BetMGM. Betting on the Bills to cover though, BetMGM offers a slightly better payout.

Betting on the point total for the first quarter could get tricky as they are set so close as BetMGM had their total set at 10.5 points and Bovada has theirs at 10 points. BetMGM does have the upper hand here in terms of the NFL odds as their odds on the Over hitting are at +110 while on Bovada it is at -130.

Bovada: Green Bay Packers Vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1Q

• Moneyline: Packers (-160) vs. Buccaneers (+120)
• Spread: Packers -0.5 (+105), Buccaneers +0.5 (-135)
• Total: 10 Points

BetMGM: Green Bay Packers Vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers 1Q

• Moneyline: Packers (-154) vs. Buccaneers (+125)
• Spread: Packers -0.5 (+110), Buccaneers +0.5 (-139)
• Total: 9.5 Points

The moneyline on both sites are in favor of the Packers winning the quarter. However, the Packers line on BetMGM is just slightly less expensive than the line on Bovada. The same thing goes for the Buccaneers moneyline as well.

Looking at the game stats and who could come out on top in the opening quarter, it is not hard to see why the Packers are favored to win as they are ranked 11 in the league in opponent first-quarter points as they allow an average of 4.4 points while the Buccaneers are way down at 27 in the league allowing 5.9 points per first quarter.

Similar to the AFC Championship game, the spread here is also set at a half-point in favor of the Packers. The odds on both teams covering the spread though are also very close meaning that money can be made on both sites.

However, the Buccaneers’ odds to cover on Bovada do offer a slightly better payout.

Looking at the total points in the first quarter, they are separated by just a half-point where BetMGM is set at 9.5 and Bovada is at 10. Betting the Over on Bovada would turn out more beneficial as the odds on the Over hitting are set at -120 while on BetMGM they are set at -154.

News tags: AFC Championship | Buffalo Bills | football | Green Bay Packers | Kansas City Chiefs | NFC Championship | NFL | NFL Playoffs | Tampa Bay Buccaneers