Championship Sunday Is Upon Us – January 28

After a long season, NFL championship Sunday is finally here. The AFC and NFC championship games will take place today and, sometime tonight, we will have the two teams that will play in Super Bowl LVIII. On this championship Sunday, Kansas City will take on Baltimore for the AFC title and Detroit battles San Francisco for the NFC crown. While the Chiefs, Ravens, and 49ers were all supposed to be here. The Detroit Lions? Meh, not so much, though many did believe this was the year the Lions would turn things around.

The NFL began seeding teams in the postseason in 1975. Since then, the No. 1 seeds in each conference have played each other in the Super Bowl just 14 times. It happened last year when Kansas City beat Philadelphia. The Chiefs victory also marked the 26th time a No. 1 seed won the Super Bowl. NFC No. 1 seeds have won 16 of those 26. The last NFC No. 1 to win a Super Bowl was Philadelphia in 2017.

This season marks the 10th time the San Francisco 49ers earned the No. 1 seed. That is an NFL record. In their previous nine trips to the playoffs as the top seed, the 49ers won four Super Bowls. San Francisco was the NFC’s No. 2 seed last year. The Niners lost to the Eagles on championship Sunday last year after QB Brock Purdy suffered a torn UCL in his throwing arm.

Championship Sunday – NFC Preview

As mentioned, this is the 49ers 10th time as the NFC’s top seed. San Francisco won the NFC West Division with a 12-5 record. Detroit won the NFC North for the first time since 1993, also with a 12-5 record. The Niners have one of the more explosive offenses in the NFL, averaging 28.9 points a game for the season. Detroit finished one spot behind San Francisco at No. 3 in scoring, averaging 27.1 per game. 

The difference in this game on championship Sunday could be the 49ers defense. The Niners finished third in the league in scoring defense (17.5 ppg). Detroit was 23rd at 23.2 points per game. The Lions have been gashed, primarily by the pass, in their last five games. Detroit gave up 411 and 396 to the Vikings, 345 to Dak Prescott and Dallas, 367 to Matt Stafford, and 349 to Baker Mayfield last week.

There have been a total of 15 NFL playoff matchups of the No. 1 and No. 3 seeds. The No. 1 seed has won on championship Sunday 14 out of 15 times. The only win by a No. 3 took place in 2003 when the Carolina Panthers upset the Philadelphia Eagles. To add more to the pain of the No. 3 seed on championship Sunday, in those 15 games, the No. 1 seeds have averaged 26.3 points per game. The No. 3 seed? 14.8. 

Championship Sunday – AFC Preview

When the AFC championship futures market opened last February, the Chiefs were a +350 favorite. Baltimore opened at a rather conservative +1100. As the two teams head into this AFC championship Sunday, the Ravens are a -205 moneyline favorite and you can get Baltimore at most sportsbooks at -4.5. It was mid-December when the Ravens overtook Kansas City as the favorite to win the AFC.

There are plenty of interesting angles in this championship Sunday matchup. Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes is 9-1-1 ATS in his career when playing as the underdog. Ravens QB Lamar Jackson is a huge favorite (-8000) to win the NFL’s MVP award. Jackson will present problems for a very good Kansas City defense. The Chiefs were actually No. 2 in scoring defense (17.3 ppg) this season right behind Baltimore (16.5).

What’s also interesting is that today’s total is set at 44.5. There have been 16 Chiefs playoff games with Mahomes at quarterback. Only four of them have finished Under 44 points. However, the Chiefs are 13-6 to the Under this season. An even better angle might be this – the second half Under. The Chiefs allowed just 5.2 points in the second half this season. The second half Under in Kansas City games this season is a ridiculous 17-2!

Championship Sunday Picks

If you didn’t already know, your No. 1 spot for the best NFL championship Sunday picks is right here at Sports Hub. There are over three dozen picks for today’s conference championship games in our system already. Members can go check those out right now. If you’re not a member, that’s okay. It’s easy to become one and you can join in on the action.

What action, you say? Well, action like SWJ Sports, one of our exclusive handicappers here at Sports Hub. SWJ Sports was our overall leader yesterday, racking up $575 in winnings. Sal Lombardi, another Sports Hub exclusive capper, has been on fire as of late. He had another great day yesterday and took home $390. If you want results like that, you’ve come to the right place.

Here’s how our cappers did yesterday.

• SWJ Sports: As mentioned, Scott at SWJ Sports won $575 yesterday. He won that by correctly predicting 6 of his 7 picks. He’s now up $960 for the week and $1361 over the last 30 days. 

• Sas Insider: Our friends at Scores & Stats bring us the Sas Insider, which uses is vast network of industry contacts to deliver winning picks. They did just that yesterday winning 54.4 percent of 125 picks! The winnings totaled $493. 
• Sean Kuchman: Sean is another Sports Hub exclusive capper who consistently has success with his picks. How about 7-3 and $465 for a day’s work? That’s what he did yesterday, which puts him up over $4000 for the month!
• Evan Lewis: Another Sports Hub expert, Evan went 4-0 yesterday and took home $400. That gives him a 7-day total of $857 and a 30-day total of $1497. Another consistent Sports Hub winner.
• Sal Lombardi: And, of course, there’s Sal. Sal has been doing this a long time. Yesterday was more proof that Sal could be your guy on this championship Sunday. Yesterday, Sal went 6-2 and added $390 to his bankroll. For the week, Sal is up $1145 and for the last 30 days, he’s up $2825!

We Have an Australian Open Winner

Remember yesterday, I told you that the Australian Open men’s final would be done by the time you read today’s Daily Report. Well, it is over and we have a new champion. Keep reading to find out who. 

Of course, today’s biggest trending news revolves around the NFL’s championship Sunday. Later tonight, we will have an AFC and an NFC champion and the Super Bowl entrants will be set. 

Let’s see what’s trending.

• Sinner winner: Down two sets, Jannick Sinner, who upset No. 1 seed Novak Djokovic to get to the final, rallied and beat Daniil Medvedev to claim the 2024 Australian Open and his first major title. Sinner won 3-6, 3-6, 6-4, 6-4, 6-3 to beat Medvedev, who has now lost three of the last four Australian Open finals.

• LeBron vs. Steph: It was an epic battle between two future Hall of Famers. LeBron James scored 36 points, had 20 rebounds, and dished out 12 assists to top Stephen Curry and the Golden State Warriorts 145-144 in double overtime. Curry had a game-high 46 points.
• Randle hurt: New York Knicks star Julius Randle suffered a dislocated right shoulder in the closing minutes of the Knicks 125-109 win over Miami last night. Randle is the Knicks second-leading scorer (24.0 ppg) and leading rebounder (9.2 rpg). There is no timetable set for Randle’s return. Since Jan. 1, the Knicks are 12-2.

Championship Sunday Schedule

Yes, it is championship Sunday. Both the AFC and NFC title games are set for today. They are not the only sporting events going on today, though. It’s a lighter day on the schedule for most other sports as the focus is on the NFL. Don’t forget to prepare yourself for today’s NFL action by visiting our NFL conference championship predictions page. 

Here’s today’s schedule.

1. AFC championship: Kansas City is at Baltimore. Game time is 3:00 p.m. ET. The game will be televised on CBS.
2. NFC championship: The Detroit Lions will play at San Francisco today at 6:30 p.m. ET. The game will be broadcast by FOX.

3. College basketball: After a huge day yesterday, the college basketball schedule has just 16 games. One of those, however, pits No. 1 UConn at home against Xavier.
4. Pro basketball: After last night’s epic Lakers-Warriors showdown, there are just five games on the NBA schedule today.
5. NHL: Yes, the Edmonton Oilers won their 16th straight last night. They are off today as is most of the league. Only two games are on the schedule today. There are just six more games over the next three days before the NHL hits its All-Star break.
6. Soccer: England’s FA Cup is back in action today. One of three La Liga matches is already underway. It’s the same in Germany’s Bundesliga where one of two matches today is already in progress. Check our database for soccer picks from around the world.
7. Tennis: The Australian Open is complete, but there are tournaments on both the ATP and WTA Tours happening now. The men are competing in the Open Sud de France. The women are playing the Thailand Open and the Upper Austria Ladies Linz.

Enjoy this championship Sunday and get yourself on the right side of the action. Check our database for picks all day long and ride your favorite cappers to victory! See you tomorrow.