NFL Betting: Who Will Be the Lowest-Scoring Team in the Conference Championship Round?

The end of a thrilling Divisional Round leaves us with four teams vying for the Super Bowl LVIII title.

Per usual in the playoffs, defense will be the name of the game this Sunday, and we're not short on intriguing Championship Specials to target on FanDuel Sportbook. Let's dive into the odds for Lowest Scoring Team - Championship Sunday.

Conference Championship Round Betting

Kansas City Chiefs (+130)

The market had the Kansas City Chiefs entering the Divisional Round as underdogs, but Patrick Mahomes and company made sure to burn any Buffalo Bills backers this past Sunday.

Now, Kansas City enters this weekend as the road underdogs, yet again. They are also favored to put the least number of points on the board, all thanks to the Baltimore Ravens rock-solid defense.

The Ravens tout the best schedule-adjusted defense in the NFL, made up of the best pass defense and the ninth-best rush defense (per numberFire).

Baltimore is consistently holding opponents to low scores, giving up just 16.1 points per game this season (fewest). C.J. Stroud and the Houston Texans were no exception to the rule this past Sunday. Stroud threw for just 175 passing yards, good for the second-fewest of his rookie season, and Houston gained a mere 38 yards on the ground. The Texans mustered just 10 points in this loss, but can we expect the Chiefs to have a similar fate?

It wouldn't be a stretch to call Sunday night's performance the best offensive bid of the year for this KC team. Everything seemed to be working. Mahomes made championship-caliber decisions, Isiah Pacheco was a monster on the ground, and for the first time in what felt like forever, Travis Kelce looked vintage. The Chiefs did all this against a Buffalo team that entered the night with a top-five rank in both pass and rush defense, so I'm having a hard time counting Kansas City out, especially at these low odds.

But with that being said, we should expect Baltimore to eat up a lot of clock time this Sunday. They held the ball for 62.64% of the game against the Texans, and time of possession was a problem for the Chiefs last night, allowing Buffalo a 61.75% time of possession percentage.

For the Chiefs to be spared from the lowest-scoring team title, they will need to even up the time of possession and/or come out with the same offensive prowess that we saw against the Bills.

Detroit Lions (+185)

The Detroit Lions have a lot of firepower on offense, touting the fourth-best schedule-adjusted rank, made up of the fifth-best rush offense and second-best pass offense.

But as defensive matchups go, it's been a bit of a walk in the park for the Lions during these playoffs. The Los Angeles Rams and Tampa Bay Buccaneers aren't among the top defenses, so a matchup against the San Francisco 49ers will be a new challenge.

The Niners have limited opponents to just 17.7 points per game this season (third-fewest). They have the fifth-best pass defense and 17th-best rush defense. Based on this, it seems Jahmyr Gibbs and David Montgomery could find success on the ground this weekend, but Detroit could very likely be playing from behind in this one, meaning they may be forced into more pass plays for efficiency's sake.

Based on how the Lions have performed against the league's top defenses, choosing them to come out of this weekend as the lowest-scoring team might be a solid move. No team in Detroit's NFC North ranks in the top 14 of schedule-adjusted defense, so hardcore defensive competition has been few and far between this year.

And in games where they did face stiff competition, the results weren't encouraging. They scored 21 points against the Chiefs, 19 points against the Dallas Cowboys, and just six points against the Ravens.

I think it will be difficult for the Lions to exceed 21 points this weekend, which might be the magic number it takes to come out as the lowest-scoring team.

Baltimore Ravens (+300)

The Kansas City Chiefs have held opponents to 17.1 points per game (second-fewest), but we shouldn't expect this to hold up this Sunday.

Sure, the Chiefs have the fourth-best schedule-adjusted defense and have been holding opponents to low enough scores during these playoffs (the Miami Dolphins scored six points; the Bills scored 24), but I don't think their status as the third-best pass defense will come in handy against Lamar Jackson.

Jackson and the Ravens rushed the ball on 62.69% of plays in the Divisional Round, leading to a meaty advantage in time of possession. Expect the same game plan this weekend against Kansas City's 26th-ranked rush defense.

The Chiefs may have come out of Sunday with a victory, but their rush defense was bulldozed by the Bills, who gained a whopping 182 yards on the ground. Jackson, meanwhile, rushed for 100 yards and ran in two touchdowns in the Divisional Round, so it's hard to argue against him making a meal out of the Chiefs' weak rush D.

For this Championship Special, the Ravens are the team I am most keen on avoiding.

San Francisco 49ers (+850)

On paper, it makes total sense why the 49ers have such long odds here. The Lions have the sixth-worst schedule-adjusted defense in the league and have given up 23.3 points per game this season (10th-most).

The Niners have the best pass offense, while the Lions have the third-worst pass defense. Christian McCaffrey has the second-highest Rushing Net Expected Points (NEP) among all running backs and should have another 100-plus yard, multiple-touchdown game in him.

But while it may seem beyond foolish to target the Niners here, they could be worth a longshot look if Deebo Samuel (shoulder) fails to make his way off the injury report.

Brock Purdy's numbers without Samuel are disheartening. Samuel missed three regular season games (one of which he left in the first quarter) for the Niners this season. During that span, Purdy had a 77.0 passer rating (as opposed to his 113.0 season average) and threw more interceptions (five) than touchdown passes (three). The Niners put up just 17 points in each of these games, so it's clear the loss of Samuel could mean trouble.

As of now, Samuel is said to be 50-50 to play in the NFC title game. If Samuel is healthy and good to go by Sunday, I wouldn't be interested in targeting San Francisco here. But we can't overlook that Samuel-less sample.

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The above author is a FanDuel employee and is not eligible to compete in public daily fantasy contests or place sports betting wagers on FanDuel. The advice provided by the author does not necessarily represent the views of FanDuel. Taking the author's advice will not guarantee a successful outcome. You should use your own judgment when participating in daily fantasy contests or placing sports wagers.