The AFC Championship rematch between the Kansas City Chiefs and Cincinnati Bengals has taken the point spread and moneyline down a path like nothing we've seen before prior to a championship weekend.
Odds have shifted from an opener of Chiefs -3 at some shops to as far the other way as Bengals -2.5 before whipsawing back to Chiefs -1.5, with the moneyline moving correspondingly. Call it the parabolic championship, and the movement may not be done yet before the kickoff at 6:30 p.m. Sunday.
The main variable here, of course, is the health of probable NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes, who suffered a high-ankle sprain during the first quarter of K.C.'s divisional round win Saturday over the Jacksonville Jaguars. A gimpy Mahomes remained in the game, then was sidelined for X-ray of the ankle, then returned for the second half, during which he led a 10-play, 75-yard touchdown drive.
Meanwhile, the last image we had of the Bengals was of Joe Burrow & Co. — 5-point underdogs — burying the Bills 27-10 in Buffalo Sunday in a game that felt more like 42-7. The Bills no-showed on their snowy and slippery home turf, and maybe the team wasn't that terrific this season to begin with. And then the 26-year-old Burrow swaggered off and took a jab at naysayers and contingency planners on social media.
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