The NFL season is just a week away from starting and that means there is plenty of money to be made. Whether it is bets to place on who wins their division or a team making the playoffs, Vegas has the odds laid out for NFL fans to place their bets.
In this article, we break down the best NFL bets to place before the season starts in terms of who will win the Super Bowl and some of the places you are best to simply stay away from. All odds are via Mybookie.ag, check out their website for some of the best deals and odds in online sports gambling.
Cleveland Browns Helmet. Photo Credit: Erik Drost | Under Creative Commons License
Best NFL Super Bowl Bets To Place
Cleveland Browns: +1300
Everybody’s favorite “underdog” coming into the 2019 NFL season takes our top spot for the best bet to place on who will win the Super Bowl. The Cleveland Browns are facing an unprecedented amount of hype after acquiring talent like Odell Beckham Jr., Sheldon Richardson, and Kareem Hunt this offseason and while it can be understandably annoying how much they’re talked about, there is good reason for it.
Teams like the Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots (more on the latter soon) are good bets as well given the spread but finding the right team with long odds is where the real money is made. The Browns are in a questionable-at-best AFC North division with the Steelers losing key pieces in Antonio Brown and Le’Veon Bell, and the Ravens being led by sophomore quarterback Lamar Jackson.
If the Browns live up to expectations and compete for the AFC North title and perhaps the conference as a whole, their bye week in the playoffs and the way the seeding plays out could mean an easy path to the Super Bowl for Cleveland. Once they get to the game, it’s usually a toss-up on who wins it so the Browns are a good bet to not only play in, but also win Super Bowl 54.
New Orleans Saints: +1000
To be perfectly honest, the next two picks won’t be the most unexpected teams but there’s a reason the sportsbook has the odds where they are. The Saints are one of the rare teams in the NFL who are in a perfect position to make the Super Bowl this season given the fact they’re biggest loss in the offseason was Mark Ingram and other than that, they’re retaining most of the core roster.
If it wasn’t for the infamous pass interference call, the Saints likely would’ve reached the Super Bowl last year and Drew Brees is showing no signs of slowing down, especially with the extension of Michael Thomas.
While the NFC South may seem like a difficult division to win, the Panthers are a question mark with Cam Newton’s health always in flux, and the Falcons finishing last season 7-9 and losing Tevin Coleman in free agency.
The Saints offseason saw some key moves like drafting Oregon center Erik McCoy to replace Max Unger and one of the more underrated moves of the offseason: the signing of Jared Cook. Brees has often thrived in years where he has a dependable tight end and Jared Cook is exactly that as evidence by his stats with the Raiders last year (68 catches for 896 yards and 6 touchdowns) in a struggling offense.
With massive question marks surrounding nearly every team in the NFC, the Saints could very easily win the conference and make it to the Super Bowl next year making them one of the early best bets to place to win the big game.
New England Patriots: +650
Like I said, not the most exciting pick ever but when you’re trying to make money, it is almost never a good idea to bet against Bill Belichick and Tom Brady. I don’t know if the pair collectively made a deal with the Devil or have cast some weird spell on the NFL but until one of them retires or leaves the franchise, it’s always one of the safest bets to make before the season for the Patriots winning the Super Bowl.
Last season was one of the biggest indicators that even when New England is outmatched in terms of talent, their ability to create an effective game plan is unmatched in the NFL and will likely stay that way for the next few years.
The retirement of Rob Gronkowski does create some question marks on the offense but New England was able to function fairly well without him last season and with the addition of Josh Gordon (assuming he stays out of trouble), Brady and the rest of the offense should be back to Super Bowl caliber.
NFL Super Bowl Bets To Stay Away From
Kansas City Chiefs: +550
Possibly the hottest take of this entire article: The Chiefs will not live up to expectations for the upcoming 2019 season. That is not to say they won’t make the playoffs or even win the AFC West but it is very rare when a rookie who performs on the historic level of Patrick Mahomes continues his hot streak throughout his sophomore (technically third) season. It sounds obvious to say a historical season will not happen again but many are expecting the Chiefs to remain as competitive as they were in 2018 and it is not outside the realm of possibility to expect a drop off from Mahomes, and paired with the now gone Dee Ford, Justin Houston and Kareem Hunt.
With the exception of Peyton Manning in 2014, every quarterback this century who has thrown for 49 or more touchdowns has thrown for 30 or less in their next full season. Mahomes is a good quarterback and rightfully deserves all the hype he is receiving but with that said, given the radical new look their rushing game has and big question marks on defense, the Chiefs not making the Super Bowl would not be a huge surprise.
Pittsburgh Steelers: +2000
The most prevalent theme in the bets to stay away from while the season is still young is the question marks in terms of player’s productivity or holes on the roster. There is no team with these two things more than the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Not only did they lose Antonio Brown to the Oakland Raiders and Le’Veon Bell to the New York Jets but Ben Roethlisberger is now 37 years old and is coming off a 16 interception year which marks the second highest of his career. With JuJu Smith-Schuster as his number one receiver, and James Conner handling the main responsibilities as the top running back, it is more than fair to question how effective Pittsburgh’s offense will be this season.
Philadelphia Eagles: +1100
While the Eagles Super Bowl run two years ago was one of the best stories to come out of the NFL in recent memory, the rarity of it working out is quickly proving itself. Philadelphia only made the second round of the playoffs last year thanks to the now infamous double-doink by the Chicago Bears. It is clear now, with Nick Foles signing with the Jacksonville Jaguars, if Carson Wentz goes down, the Eagles are not in a good position to compete in the NFC, let alone in their division.
The loss of Jay Ajayi was arguably improved upon with the addition of Jordan Howard. However, how he fits into the rotation with rookie Miles Sanders and veterans Corey Clement and Darren Sproles could either be a blessing in disguise for Philadelphia or just create confusion in the backfield.
Add on to that Carson Wentz has major health questions if he can last an entire season and even if he can, is it possible that he returns to the MVP level he was at previously? The Eagles are in a weak NFC East but even if they make the playoffs, it’s hard to imagine they make it out of the conference to even make the Super Bowl let alone win it.