Bengals vs. Kansas City Live: AFC Championship Score and Updates

Philadelphia (2.5) and Kansas City (-2.5) are favored, according to Covers.com, by a combined 5 points. That’s, like, nothing.

In fact, according to Stathead, only twice before in the Super Bowl era (since 1967) have the point spreads in the conference championship games each been lower than 3 points: the 1982 and 1997 seasons.

Also, as my colleague David Hill noted, this is the first time in the recorded history of the N.F.L. betting markets that the Super Bowl-winning odds of the last four teams — Eagles (+230), Bengals (+240), Chiefs (+280) and 49ers (+320) — are this close. By contrast, the odds last year heading into championship weekend ranged from +125 to +900.

In this instance, the perceived parity is easy to understand: The No. 1 seeds Philadelphia and Kansas City have lorded over their conferences pretty much all season, while San Francisco and Cincinnati haven’t lost since October.

The betting line has moved all week, flipping between teams as news surrounding Patrick Mahomes’s sprained ankle dripped out. It has lately settled on Kansas City as the favorite after the incandescent quarterback practiced this week.

Had Mahomes’s health not been in question, the line from the start almost certainly would have tilted toward Kansas City, which is hosting the game. But Mahomes played in the last three meetings with the Bengals, with Cincinnati winning each of those games by 3 points.

Whichever teams win on Sunday, we are assured of a tantalizing Super Bowl matchup on Feb. 12 in Glendale, Ariz., where the point spread should be just as tight — if not tighter at a neutral site — as those this weekend.