NFC Championship Game Betting Odds, Analysis

After toppling the Dallas Cowboys as the underdog last week can the red-hot Green Bay Packers keep their winning streak going when they visit the Atlanta Falcons in the NFC Championship Game? They are an underdog again this week at +4 at the Bovada sportsbook.

Green Bay was a 5-point road underdog last week in their 34-31 win over the Cowboys. Kicker Mason Crosby knocked home the game-winning field goal as time expired after Aaron Rodgers got him in field goal position with a phenomenal sideline strike to Jared Cook. Rodgers finished the game with 356 passing yards, two touchdowns, and an interception. Ty Montgomery had a pair of rushing touchdowns and Cook finished with six receptions for 104 yards and a score.

The Falcons advanced last week with a 36-20 win over the Seattle Seahawks as a 6.5-point favorite. Matt Ryan had three touchdown passes for Atlanta and Tevin Coleman and Devonta Freeman combined to rush for 102 yards with Coleman catching a TD pass and Freeman running in for six.

The Packers enter Sunday’s matchup having won their last eight games, covering the spread in seven of them. Atlanta has won five straight with a 4-1 record against the spread. Both sides are also on big streaks for totals bettors. Green Bay has gone OVER the posted total in their last six games and 10 of their last 12. Atlanta is on a seven-game OVER streak and they’re 11-1 OVER in their last 12 games.

The final score also went OVER the posted total when the Packers and Falcons met earlier this season in Week 8. Atlanta was a 3-point home favorite in that matchup and slipped past Green Bay 33-32. Ryan had three touchdown passes for Atlanta including the game-winning strike to Mohamed Sanu with less than a minute remaining in the fourth quarter. Rodgers found the end zone four times for Green Bay, but it wasn’t enough.

That Week 8 win snapped a four-game losing streak against the Packers for the Falcons during which they were 2-2 ATS. In their last five games in Atlanta the Packers are 3-2 SU and 4-1 ATS.

In the last 11 matchups between the Packers and Falcons the visiting side has won ATS 10 times. That bodes well for Green Bay, as does the fact that Atlanta is 3-10 ATS in their last 13 games as a home favorite.