Even before the NFL season begins, there are a number of wagering options available for anyone who wishes to place a bet on how teams will fare in their own divisions and what their chances are to make the playoffs and how far they will advance if they make it to the postseason. Many of these NFL odds change on a regular basis, so it’s important to check them often to take advantage of what may end up being favorable odds.
Super Bowl Odds
The most visible futures odds typically are those for the chances of teams to win the Super Bowl. There are odds for every team posted prior to the beginning of play and those are routinely updated after each week’s play, with the favorite not always making its way to the championship game, much less winning it.
The 2021 season has been particularly interesting, with favorites like Kansas City and Tampa Bay, although staying alive for the playoffs and a division crown, have not demonstrated the dominance expected of teams that are headed to Super Bowl success. The current campaign may be one of the most wide open in recent memory and the shifts in favorite status shows no sign of abating with the expectation that the uncertainty will continue well into the playoffs.
Division Championship Odds
As long as a team has not been mathematically eliminated from finishing on top of their division, they may still be worthy of a wager, especially from past experience. The NFL has intentionally and smartly pushed most of the critical division matchups later into the season, with the Dallas Cowboys and Washington Football Team demonstrating that, as they play their two games against each other in the final five weeks of the season.
Teams have a lot of incentive to win their divisions, especially to potentially qualify for the top seed, ensuring home field advantage throughout the playoffs as well as getting a first round bye to bet a valuable week off following a 17 game schedule. With the tie breaking system in place, head to head games and records within the division many times determine who emerges as champion.
With the late season surge of games between division opponents, it’s not uncommon for a team to get hot and make a run to the title in the final quarter of the schedule. With the addition of a seventh playoff team in each conference and the move from 16 to 17 regular season games will most certainly add to the reliance on tiebreakers, with some great opportunities for bettors to benefit from great odds.
Playoff Odds
In addition to Super Bowl and division winning odds, bettors can also wager on which teams will qualify for the playoffs, which gets increasingly competitive as the NFL adds teams to the postseason mix. There isn’t necessarily a lot of money to be made by wagering on the obvious favorites or teams that appear headed to the playoffs, but a close look at late season schedules and momentum could yield a nice payout, even up to the final week of the season.
There is always a team that comes out of nowhere to make the playoffs and even advance to the Super Bowl, with bettors having to look no further into the past than last season when Tampa caught fire late and ended up being led to a Super Bowl title by quarterback Tom Brady in his first year with the team. It’s possible that as many as twelve teams in each conference will remain in playoff contention up to the final two weeks of the season, providing bettors plenty of exciting options at profitable wagers.