From the Dallas Cowboys to the Houston Texans, there are some teams that seem like runaway favorites to win their division during the 2019 NFL season. Meanwhile, other divisions like the NFC South and the AFC North seem to be open competitions with the odds relying on players like Baker Mayfield and Matt Ryan.
With so much up in the air with the NFL this season, placing bets on which teams win certain divisions is risky but there are certain odds that bettors can take advantage of to make sure no matter how wild this season gets, you will still make money. In this article, we break down the best NFL bets to place in terms of who will win their division in the NFL. All odds are via Mybookie.ag, check out their website for some of the best deals and odds in online sports gambling.
NFL Best Bets: NFL Division Winners Bets For The 2019 NFL Season
Best Bets To Place
Dallas Cowboys To Win The NFC East: +160
This is without a doubt the most mind blowing line you will find before the NFL season starts. To put it into context, this line places the Cowboys second to win the NFC East with the Philadelphia Eagles in first place at -160. No matter which sportsbook you find, most will have the Eagles as the favorites to win this division. With the amount of question marks surrounding the Eagles including Carson Wentz’s health and the defense’s role without the leadership of players like Michael Bennett, it is a mystery why they are the universal favorites to win the division.
Even if Ezekiel Elliott had sat out a few weeks of the season, Tony Pollard has shown enough promise to keep the offense afloat. While they are suffering from several players being suspended, the continuity of the Cowboys roster from last season shows a lot of promise for them to repeat as NFC East champions. Whenever you have a team that won the division the previous year with little turnover as the underdog, you take those odds.
Green Bay Packers To Win The NFC North: +225
While the Cowboys winning their division is one of the easiest bets to place, finding another easy or underrated bet to place on a team winning their division in the NFC that will win you a fair amount of money is difficult. This pick was close to being the Chicago Bears to win the NFC North but ultimately, placing money on an underdog is more fun and I don’t think there is a better one in the NFC than the Packers.
The hiring of Matt LaFleur was one that fit the team perfectly given the fact that Aaron Rodgers is clearly nearing the end of his career so hiring the brain of one of the league’s best offenses to helm the last few good years of his career will undoubtedly pay off. While many will point to defensive losses of Clay Matthews, Nick Perry and Muhammad Wilkerson as harmful to the team, the additions of Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith are arguably improvements that were made. The loss of Randall Cobb will be interesting to see how it affects the offense but with Aaron Rodgers leading them, counting the Packers out of the NFC North is never a good idea and not a bad team to put a bit of money on either.
Houston Texans To Win The AFC South: +110
While it’s never fun to place the bet on the favorite to win the division, you’ll be hard pressed to find a better team than the Houston Texans to do so. Andrew Luck’s surprise retirement completely shifted the AFC South outlook and placed the Texans firmly in place to win the division. Marcus Mariota is entering the career year that many young quarterbacks face and fail, while the Jaguars’ hopes rely almost solely on Nick Foles.
While Jacoby Brissett is a fine backup quarterback, it’s hard to imagine the Colts compete for a division crown this year. Lamar Miller suffering a season-ending ACL injury does hurt the Texans’ prospects but any team led by Deshaun Watson in such a weak division is rightfully the favorite to win it and even more rightfully the betting favorite to do so. It’s not a fun bet to place, but with the Texans’ spread still placing them as the underdog, it’s an easy way to make money.
Los Angeles Chargers To Win The AFC West: +200
Where the Texans is the safe bet to place to win their division in the AFC, the Chargers are your best bet to win their division as the underdogs. The Chiefs sit as the favorites at -180 but there are plenty of question marks around their roster that aren’t being brought up when odds are being talked about. While the Chiefs seemingly succeeded with the absence of Kareem Hunt, it is still yet to be seen how they fare with an entire season with him out of their rushing attack. That along with the question of if Frank Clark will make up for the absence of Dee Ford, who was traded to the San Francisco 49ers, creates enough doubt around their ability to run away with the AFC West.
While Melvin Gordon’s likely holdout looms over the Chargers, Austin Ekeler has proven himself a worthy backup and will be a worthy replacement for Gordon. Meanwhile, both sides of the Chargers team is returning most, if not all, of their starters from last season in which they went 12-4 signaling another strong year for Los Angeles.
Packers at Redskins 8/19/17. Photo Credit: KA Sports Photos | Under Creative Commons License