Predicting a Super Bowl rematch?
NFL training camps are underway and with that comes the ramp-up to the 2021-2022 season, the first one in two years which should have fans in the seats at every game. The specter of COVID-19 still looms large, especially as the league recently threatened teams with forfeits should an unvaccinated spread of the virus create postponements that can’t be rescheduled. And with players back on the field, sportsbooks are taking bets on who will hold the Lombardi Trophy on February 13. Let’s take a look at which teams the experts think will have very happy Valentine’s Days.
As one might expect, the top two favorites are the Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, the two teams who faced off in Super Bowl LV earlier this year. The Chiefs and their insane offense are the favorites, according to consensus figures posted by The Action Network, currently at +500 to win it all. The Buccaneers, the defending champs, are second at +650, thanks to returning all 22 of their starters.
The Pack is back?
The Buffalo Bills are next at +1,200 and in what may be a surprise, the Green Bay Packers are also right there at +1,200. The Packers were the biggest question mark of the offseason, as rift between MVP quarterback Aaron Rodgers and management came to the fore and it looked like Rodgers might sit out the season, retire (he said he considered it), or demand a trade.
But Rodgers and the team settled their differences enough for him to report to training camp this week, so the leader of the NFL’s highest scoring offense is back. William Hill has the Pack at +1,500, so jump on that one right now if you like Green Bay to bring the Lombardi Trophy back to Titletown. VegasInsider.com only has the Packers’ odds at +2,800, so that probably hasn’t been updated for the news of Rodgers’ return.
Texans not even worth it at +20,000
Just based on Super Bowl futures, it appears that the toughest division will be the NFC West, as it has three teams in the top ten: Los Angeles Rams at +1,293, San Francisco 49ers at +1,348, and Seattle Seahawks at +2,500. There is sharp drop from the eighth-favorite Cleveland Browns at +1,600 to the ninth-ranked Seahawks, so it looks like Seattle is at the top of the third tier (Chiefs and Buccaneers would be the first tier, Bills/Packers through the Browns would be the second tier).
The basement dwellers, according to the sportsbooks are the dumpster fire Houston Texans at +20,000 and the Detroit Lions at +17,746 (remember, these are averages – you won’t see strange numbers like that if you bet). Three more teams have odds of at least +10,000: Jacksonville Jaguars at +10,000, Cincinnati Bengals at +10,910, and New York Jets at +12,245.
According to The Action Network’s listed odds, just two teams have the same odds at all six sportsbooks from which the site gathers data: Cleveland Browns at +1,600 and the Washington Football Team at +5,000.
