The Green Bay Packers were denied a ticket to their first Super Sunday appearance since winning Super Bowl XLV when they suffered a heartbreaking overtime loss to the Seattle Seahawks in last season’s NFC Conference Championship game.
But that defeat has done little to dampen the Packers’ Super Bowl 50 odds, which have climbed to 6/1, making them early favorites in NFL futures betting at the online sportsbooks.
The Packers enjoyed a strong offseason, keeping WR Randall Cobb and RT Bryan Bulaga in the fold with shiny new contracts, and are once again expected to be one of the NFL’s dominant offensive forces in the upcoming season.
Not surprisingly, the Packers are also pegged as favorites to emerge as NFC Conference Champions this season, with strong 13/4 odds.
The Pack are closely trailed in the NFC online betting by Seattle, who are a 7/2 bet to make a third straight Super Bowl appearance.
The Seahawks fell short of a Super Bowl repeat, dropping a 28-24 decision to the New England Patriots in Super Bowl XLIX, which will most certainly be remembered for the Seahawks’ infamous play call which denied them a game-winning TD on the final play of the game.
The Dallas Cowboys, one of the surprise stories in the NFL last season after winning 12 games and the NFC East division crown, round out the top three in NFC futures betting, with 6/1 odds.
The Cowboys’ success was fueled by an offense led by QB Tony Romo and the NFL’s Offensive Player of the Year, RB Demarco Murray, who racked up an impressive 1845 rushing yards during the regular season.
But with Murray departing Dallas via free agency and signing a $40 million contact with the rival Philadelphia Eagles, the Cowboys will be hard pressed to repeat as the NFC’s second-ranked offense in the upcoming NFL campaign.
Following a flurry of offseason moves, which saw QB Nick Foles replaced by Sam Bradford and Tim Tebow, and RB LeSean McCoy dealt to the Buffalo Bills for LB Kiko Alonso, the Eagles enter July listed at 11/1 on the NFC futures betting odds.
The Arizona Cardinals saw a strong 2014 season derailed following season-ending injuries to quarterbacks Carson Palmer and Drew Stanton. But after winning 11 games a year ago, the Cards remain in the NFC Championship hunt with 12/1 odds.
The New York Giants lead the best of the rest at 16/1, followed by the Minnesota Vikings at 18/1, and the San Francisco 49ers and St. Louis Rams, deadlocked at 20/1.
Four teams sport 22/1 odds, including the Atlanta Falcons, Carolina Panthers, Detroit Lions and New Orleans Saints, while the rebuilding Chicago Bears are pegged at 28/1.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, led by NFL Rookie of the Year betting favorite, QB Jameis Winston, are listed at a distant 40/1, ahead of the Washington Redskins, who will enter the preseason as 66/1 NFL props betting longshots.
1 response to “Packers Emerge as NFC, Super Bowl Favorites in NFL Online Betting”
The Packers’s SB potential will be based on DEFENSE for the 5th consecutive year. DEFENSE has let this team down for 4 years in a row, their playoff/SB will determined by the defense’s ability to stop opponents late in games and protecting leads or keeping their offense close enough to strike late in any games they don’t have the lead. At this point I expect Clay Matthews to play a LOT of ILB unless another ILB steps up to help Sam Barrington in the middle. Don’t count out a weaker secondary to start the season despite Tramon Williams being the WORST CB in the league for QB completions and TD’s. They’ve replaced Williams and Davon House but neither of the rookies drafted have a lot of experience and are NOT ready for prime time in NFL.