NFL Odds: Division Round Depth Makes for Perfect Postseason
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | Jan. 6, 2014
After a no less than legendary Wild Card Weekend, eight remaining contenders on the NFL moneyline will look to follow up the initial offering with four more gems this Saturday and Sunday. At this point, when it comes to betting on the Super Bowl, we’re all in for a wild ride.
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At the expense of the Kansas City Chiefs, who served as the feel good story of the 2013 campaign, the Indianapolis Colts have proved that they’re the same imposing force that they were to start the year. Consider Indianapolis’ modest stretch in November and December an aberration, because this is a club capable of dethroning the best.
We wouldn’t like to line up across from Andrew Luck if we were the New England Patriots, and oddsmakers have started to take note. With 14/1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, they may still qualify as long shots on the NFL futures, but with Luck and TY Hilton on the field, anything is possible.
The Patriots, in contrast, have 15/2 odds of their own. While the rivalry may have faded when Peyton Manning left Indy, there’s no denying that Tom Brady will at least be a little bit fired up to knock off a Colts team he has so much history with.
Speaking of Manning, his Denver Broncos – Super Bowl favorites in the offseason – are heavy favorites against the San Diego Chargers, with 13/5 odds on the overall football futures. Philip Rivers and company have put together an impressive second half to their season, but the Broncos have been bracing for this postseason load since their Hall of Fame-bound quarterback hopped aboard in the summer of 2012.
In the NFC, the Seattle Seahawks continue to pull their weight as the overall favorite on the NFL futures. Their 5/2 odds are hard to ignore, regardless of the Drew Brees-Jimmy Graham tandem they’ll face in their playoff debut. The Saints, in contrast, sit tied with Indy and San Diego at the bottom of the betting line with 14/1 odds. Can Brees slay a Seattle’s vaunted defense when it matters most?
Joining Seattle as representatives of the NFC West, the San Francisco 49ers have some expectations to live up to of their own. It’s time for Jim Harbaugh’s clan to start dealing damage when it matters most. They may not have had their ticket to the Division Round handed to them like the Carolina Panthers, but there’s no doubt that they’re the team to beat heading into the contest.
While the Niners have 5/1 odds of winning the Super Bowl, Cam Newton and company trail on the list with 11/1 odds. Fans of the upstart Panthers can only hope that head coach Peter Horachek can expose the same San Fran vulnerabilities that the Green Bay Packers almost did in the opening battle.
Simply put, with four barnburners on the schedule for next weekend, the NFL betting community is on cloud nine. It seems that this year almost any team that remains in contention could be capable of playing at Super Bowl XLVIII come February.
We have our favorites, just as we’ve had since September, but if the postseason process was so predictable, the NFL wouldn’t be the NFL. So grab a seat, ladies and gentlemen, the follow up performance to the wildest Wild Card Weekend is coming up.
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