carson wentz

New England bucked a recent Super Bowl trend when they defeated the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl LI, becoming the first betting favorite to win the big game since the Green Bay Packers downed the Pittsburgh Steelers in Super Bowl XLV, and just the second favorite to win the big game in a decade. The moneyline favorite is a mediocre 7-7 in the last 14 Super Bowls.

Beyond the straight up determination and point spread wagering on who will win Super Bowl LII between the New England Patriots and Philadelphia Eagles, there's also over/under or total wagering available, clearly the toughest of the three wagers to call. Straight up, favorites are 35-16 in Super Bowls, and 28-19-2 against the spread. But the over/under is almost a perfect split, going 26-24-1.

Not so long ago, Nick Foles had a great job. As back-up QB of the Philadelphia Eagles, he held a clipboard on the sideline, watching NFL MVP candidate Carson Wentz work under center and lead the Eagles toward the NFC East title. That comfort zone came to a crashing halt in Week 14 when Wentz suffered a season-ending torn ACL, leaving Foles to carry the Eagles to Super Bowl LII.

No team in the NFL playoffs was performing better down the stretch than the Atlanta Falcons. The defending NFC champions are 7-2 in their last nine games. They took care of the NFC West champion Los Angeles Rams on the road in the wild card round and will look to do the same to the NFC East champion Philadelphia Eagles in the divisional playoff round, also on the road.

Are the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams to be taken seriously? Both have benefited from soft schedules to take control of their respective divisions - the Eagles in the NFC East and the Rams in the NFC West. But the true question remains, can they run with the big boys? As they face each other this week, both can take another step toward earning status as legitimate Super Bowl contenders.

When the Kansas City Chiefs throttled the reigning Super Bowl champion New England Patriots in their season opener, it looked as if Andy Reid's team was finally ready to take the next step, make some noise and go deep into the playoffs. But the Chiefs are now on a 1-5 slide since their 5-0 start and a Kansas City postseason appearance can no longer be considered a certainty.