The Jacksonville Jaguars (12-6) have never been to the Super Bowl. The Minnesota Vikings (14-3) are 0-4 in the big game and have not played for the Vince Lombardi Trophy in more than 40 years.
Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com
Both the Jaguars and the Vikings are road teams that will also be trying to break an eight-game losing streak for visitors in conference title games, going 0-5 against the spread in the previous five as well heading into Sunday’s action.
Jacksonville undoubtedly has the more difficult road, going through Foxborough against the New England Patriots (14-3), who are playing in their seventh consecutive AFC Championship Game. The Jaguars are listed as 9-point underdogs and have lost the past seven meetings with the defending Super Bowl champion Patriots straight up, going 2-5 against the spread in those games
New England has also gone an incredible 10-1 ATS in its last 11 games overall with a current 7-1 ATS run in the playoffs as well.
Meanwhile, Minnesota is in a completely different situation as a 3.5-point road favorite versus the Philadelphia Eagles (14-3) in the NFC Championship Game. The Vikings are coming off a thrilling 29-24 win over the New Orleans Saints last week on the last play of the game after blowing a 17-0 lead at home, and now they hope to capitalize on that opportunity with a shot to host Super Bowl 52 on their home field at U.S. Bank Stadium.
However, the Eagles have won nine of the past 12 meetings with Minnesota, going 11-3 ATS in the previous 14 games between the teams. Philadelphia is also relishing the role of home underdog, going a perfect 4-0 straight up the four times the team has been in this scenario all-time.
One of them came last week when the Eagles topped the Atlanta Falcons 15-10 behind an outstanding defensive performance, especially in the second half. The Falcons led 10-9 at halftime and had a chance to win the game but could not score another touchdown on their final drive that stalled at the Philly two-yard line with about a minute left. It may take a similar effort for the Eagles to fly to Minneapolis.
