What should we make of the line moves for the AFC and NFC Championship games this week?
Steve Makinen answers that question and many more in his betting trends for the title games.
Since 2005, you would be 19-9 ATS (67.9) by following the line moves.
What we have seen so far: Circa opened at New England -5.5 and moved to -4.5. DraftKings opened at -4.5, moved to -5.5 and on Thursday moved back to -4.5. In the NFC game, Seattle opened at -1.5 at DraftKings and moved to -2.5. Circa has been at -2.5 all week.
Keep an eye on our betting splits page through kickoff as betting limits are starting to increase.
Our experts’ Best Bets columns are starting to roll in.
I don’t want to give it all away, but Dave Tuley likes backup QBs. He says Sean Payton is 8-1 SU with backups. Dave also has a teaser he likes.
Patrick Meagher and Mike Somich offer their Jarrett Stidham betting angles, among other thoughts, on the Sharp Money podcast.
We’ll post everything we do on the conference championships on this page.
NFL coaching carousel: The Ravens hired Chargers defensive coordinator Jesse Minter.
Quick Hits
NBA: Zach Cohen‘s Best Bets and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report will hit around mid-morning on our NBA page. Our Opta AI NBA player props projections are here.
College Basketball: Greg “Hoops” Peterson has picks for today’s college basketball menu. Adam Burke offers his college basketball Best Bets Monday-Saturday. You can find them on our college basketball page mid-morning.
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NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
Australian Open: You will be able to get Zach Cohen‘s daily Best Bets here on our special Aussie Open page. Zach and Gill Alexander add their picks to our tennis picks page. Gill usually sends them to me around 3 p.m. Vegas time.
UFC: In its debut on Paramount+, the UFC returns for the 2026 season on Saturday in Las Vegas. Lou Finocchiaro has his picks for the card, featuring the Justin Gaethje-Paddy Pimblett fight. Rob Moreno runs the numbers through his model and comes up with his predictions. Rob and Dave Ross have produced the first First Strike podcast of the year with guest Jordan Sherwood. 👉 Watch / Listen.
Horse Racing: Check out our horse racing page for today’s picks from “Mr. Ed” Sehon and the Daily Racing Form.
Mike Somich and Aaron Halterman have their Best Bets for Saturday’s Pegasus World Cup at Gulfstream on the VSiN At The Track podcast. 👉 Watch / Listen.
