NFL Odds to Make the Playoffs
After a dozen games, a handful of teams are virtually guaranteed to make the NFL playoffs. There are very few scenarios that they won’t. You’d be better off to give your money to a helpful charity this holiday season rather than bet against them making a playoff run to ring in the New Year.
But, seeding and home field advantage in both conferences is still unresolved. How teams such as San Francisco, New Orleans, Seattle, New England and Baltimore end up seeded is still in doubt. However, they’d have to basically self-implode over the next month to not earn a playoff spot.
There are a number of teams who weeks ago began whispering those fateful words, maybe next season. That actually includes more than half the teams in the National Football League. In the middle are the teams on the proverbial playoff bubble.
For some, the bubble is so thin that one little prick with a hat pin will burst that bubble. Here’s how we rate the current sportsbook odds for who will hoist the Lombardi Trophy as the winner of Super Bowl LIV at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami, Florida. Stay on top of all the live super 54 bowl odds on Lineups.com. If you’re in New Jersey or Pennsylvania, you can legally bet on the super bowl on your app on computer. William Hill sportsbook is one of highest reviewed mobile apps by Lineups. William Hill offers a sign up bonus of $50 for new users.
Too Thin a Bubble?
We mentioned teams who haven’t been eliminated from the playoffs, yet. If you’re into taking big chances with your money, the odds for these teams to even make the NFL playoffs would reward with a big payday.
However, we’re back to recommending charitable donations as opposed to betting on these teams to make the playoffs. No playoff spot renders it rather impossible to win the Super Bowl. The names of the teams still being mentioned as playoff viable in the NFC incorporates most of our thin bubbles.
Chicago and Philadelphia are both sitting on the outside looking in at the moment. A lot could change, we’ll give you that. However, the Bears need to win every game to even inch their way past the teams ahead of them.
While they aren’t mathematically eliminated from the NFC North division, yet, they are on life-support. Philadelphia’s wildcard aspirations are actually worse than the Bears. Philadelphia’s playoff hopes actually rest on the outcome of a December 22 game against their divisional rival Dallas Cowboys.
Other than the Cowboys, the Eagles have a weak enough schedule for fans to have hope. But, like the Bears, who helped their own cause and Philly’s by beating Dallas, the Eagles are not a team that exudes Super Bowl Champion-like confidence.
The Bears don’t appear to be world-beaters either. Over the last nine weeks, Chicago has lost five times. They’ve managed to beat three wounded teams, and the inept Dallas Cowboys. Once again, any odds a sports’ bettor thinks are appealing for the Bears to win the 54th Super Bowl should come with a ribbon wrapped around them.
Too Much Doubt in Big D?
That’s a nice place to segue into the prospects for America’s Team. With all respect to the good fans of the Dallas Cowboys, when we’re laying down money it’s wise to consider all the factors. With the Cowboys, it’s the head coach factor. Jason Garrett has simply not proven to be a smart bet in big games.
In addition, the Cowboys will probably only host one playoff game if they make it at all. A team that is winless against teams winning records doesn’t exude much confidence when the chips are on the table.
They handed the tiebreaker to New Orleans, as illogical as a tie with the Saints is, plus either Seattle or San Francisco is going to win an 11th game. The Dallas Cowboys will not win 11 games during the regular season. Despite the current mood in Dallas, we still like the Cowboys to backdoor their way to win the NFC East.
They’re just a better team than the Eagles. However, matched against Seattle, San Francisco, or Minnesota in the wildcard round may be too much for the Boys to handle even playing in Big D. That +3,000 number for the Cowboys to win the Super Bowl is really enticing. But, only if you’re a diehard Dallas Cowboys fan.
Too Good to Be True?
As for the rest of the NFC, the books are pretty clear that oddsmakers are convinced of the obvious. New Orleans is going to win their division and enter the playoffs as a high seed. They are also odds-on favorites to get a bye week.
But they still come in at number three in the NFL with a +550 line to win the ultimate prize. With a potentially explosive offense, as always, and a good defense, we like that number. But, we have to reserve total commitment until they earn home field advantage throughout the NFC bracket.
San Francisco and Seattle both fall in behind the Saints at +800 and +900. What seems compelling is that Seattle seems to have an inside track at winning the NFC West and earning that all-important bye-week.
Whichever team survives the division to avoid the wildcard round has to look like the most appealing NFC team behind New Orleans. We can’t forget that hot teams heading into the playoffs should always get extra attention. Seattle has knocked off five straight.
We also don’t want to sleep on a team that lost the NFC Championship just two seasons ago. Minnesota +2,900 is a team that can catch people napping. They have a path to the NFC North title, but probably not a first-round bye.
Whether Minnesota gets to host a game in the wildcard round might make all the difference for moving on. In front of them in the division are their bitter rivals the Green Bay Packers. Green Bay slides in with +1,500 to win it all. That’s 400 worse than the team deemed third best in the AFC.
Green Bay was the Super Bowl darling of many prognosticators back in August. The surprising strong play of both New Orleans and Seattle is part of the reason. A pair of unflattering trips to the West Coast over the last month didn’t help improve the Packers appeal.
In some respects, we think this could be a Packer team that might rediscover its direction as we inch closer to the playoffs. At nearly triple the value of the Saints, no one could fault someone for laying down a bet on the Packers at +1,500. If so, it might be wise to hedge that wager with another team.
Too Much Unknown?
We might have put all the AFC wildcard hopefuls in the too big a bubble category. But, with so much still up in the air, we feel Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Oakland and Indianapolis would classify as the unknown.
Each has a number to win the Super Bowl far worse than the Buffalo Bills. Only Tennessee at +6,500 comes in at under 10,000. Even the young and thriving Buffalo Bills’ chances are clouded in an air of mystery.
Pittsburgh is the team at +10,000. That means the oddsmakers think the Steelers have a backdoor chance of bumping the Titans out of the final AFC wildcard spot. The Colts sit behind the Raiders and handed over the tiebreaker to the soon-to-be Vegas Raiders.
With New England and Baltimore seemingly head-and-shoulders above everyone else, whichever team fills the final AFC playoff spot is going to come with a lot of unknown baggage. Sure, big odds might generate a big payoff, but please remember your favorite charities this holiday season.
Too Good to Pass Up?
With all the supposition surrounding all the wildcard teams except the Vikings, laying down a wager on any of them to win Super Bowl LIV is akin to going out on a limb. New Orleans is a team that has lost twice, despite a couple of untimely injuries.
Might the Saints be even better than their 10-2 record? At +500 we think New Orleans might bring a little taste of Mardi gras to South Beach come February. Even with two losses themselves, does any really think that New England isn’t the best team in the AFC?
Baltimore beat them, we’ll give you that, but while it’s been a challenge to beat the Patriots once in a season, go figure the Ravens can do it twice if they need to. Baltimore may be the overall favorite at the moment, but somehow we’re still not convinced.
Kansas City is another team with a lot of baggage. Like New Orleans, they have endured a couple big-name injuries. However, New Orleans stepped up on the defensive side of the ball, and the Chiefs did not.
We like taking a shot on the Pack over the Chiefs given the +400 difference in the odds for those two teams. You might assume that we forgot about the Texans. The reason may be that there have been a few problems in Houston.
The defense is a shadow of what it is at full strength. Deshaun Watson is a threat at any point in the game, but until we see more big-game heroics from his supporting cast, that +2,500 to win the final game of the season in Miami is a stretch.
Houston fans might look at us with one eyebrow raised after beating New England in their last game. The Texans defense stepped up with six tackles for loss. This game was also in Houston, but a January visit to Foxboro, if that even materializes, would be a tall order for these Texans.
So, where does that leave us with the Super Bowl odds that are too good to pass up? We’ll know a lot come Sunday afternoon when the Saints/49ers final clock goes off. One of those two teams is going to have a clear advantage in the NFC.
We think it’ll be the Saints. New Orleans will put their stamp on the AFC bracket as well. Two of the Saints last four games are against the Titans and Colts. That may be why the Steelers’ odds are more favorable for the final wildcard in that conference.
That’ll leave a young, untested but very good San Francisco team with a hope they can beat another good team on their home Seattle turf that last week of the regular season. Seattle is on a five game winning streak, and we already mentioned the hot-team concept.
However, Green Bay has a monster game in Minnesota. Their other three games are very winnable, including a home game against the Bears a week from Sunday. If the Packers win out, it’s quite conceivable that they get the first week bye and host a game the following week.
If you’ve never been to Lambeau in January, you may not appreciate why we like the Packers Super Bowl odds a lot more, if that happens. That’s a lot to digest, but no NFL fan should be surprised with a month’s worth of regular season games remaining.
Final Thoughts
To make sense of the jumbled mess that’s the NFL playoff picture could take hours. There are multiple ways that some teams could sneak their way in. However, their bubble is thin. In the AFC, the wildcard battle is far from a given.
Seems everyone but the division leaders has their own version of the bubble. Buffalo has an obvious advantage over the rest, and the Bills aren’t out of the picture to win the AFC East. They will play possibly the biggest game in recent years for this franchise in Foxboro two weeks from now.
To pick the Bills as a favorite in the AFC means you have to bet against Tom Brady and Bill Belichick. Again, charitable donations are all well-and-good. There will certainly be surprises, but this our take on the Super Bowl winner odds that rock to hoist the Lombardi at the Hard Rock.
