The South Point Casino and Sports Book in Las Vegas updated their odds to win the 2019 NFL Championship and the New Orleans Saints are 2-1 favorites to win Super Bowl LIII.
With three weeks remaining in the regular season, the Saints are 11-2 and tied for the best record in the NFC with the LA Rams. However, the Saints hold the tiebreaker after defeating the Rams earlier in the season. The Rams were Super Bowl favorites for most of the season.
SUPER BOWL LIII ODDS
New Orleans Saints 2/1
Kansas City Chiefs 4/1
LA Rams 4/1
LA Chargers 6/1
New England Patriots 7/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 7/1
Houston Texans 15/1
Chicago Bears 18/1
Dallas Cowboys 20/1
Baltimore Ravens 20/1
Seattle Seahawks 30/1
Minnesota Vikings 40/1
The LA Rams (11-2) and Kansas City Chiefs (11-2) are the second-highest favorites on the board at 4-1. The defending champions, Philadelphia Eagles (6-7), slipped to 200-1 odds after losing to the Dallas Cowboys in overtime.
Who Dat
The Saints bounced back after a loss to the Cowboys last week on Thursday Night Football. Drew Brees and the Saints rallied from behind to defeat the Tampa Bay Bucs. The Saints improved to 11-2 and regained NFC home-field advantage in the playoffs because the LA Rams lost to the Chicago Bears.
In a true defensive slog, the Bears hunkered down and prevented the Rams, particularly Todd Gurley, from reaching the endzone. It wasn’t pretty, but the Bears prevailed 15-6. The Rams slipped to 11-2 and are currently the #2 seed.
Rough Sunday in the AFC
The AFC took a hit this week with losses to the New England Patriots, Houston Texans, and the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Texans had their nine-game winning streak thwarted by Andrew Luck and the Colts.
Meanwhile, the Patriots and Steelers struggle away from home. The Pats are now 3-4 away from Foxboro after being stunned by the Miami Miracle. The Steelers dropped three straight games and it could have been four if they didn’t steal a win in Jacksonville against the hapless Jaguars.
Meanwhile, the Chiefs continue their march to the Super Bowl. With a win over the Baltimore Ravens in overtime, the Chiefs locked up a postseason berth.
Rise of Cooper
The Dallas Cowboys are America’s Team, which means their actual numbers are a little bit skewed due to their popularity and fan bias. However, at 20-1 odds to win the Super Bowl, they offer up some good value due to the rise of Amari Cooper.
Jerry Jones traded a first-round draft pick to acquire Cooper from the Oakland Raiders. Jon Gruden gutted his team for draft picks. Before the season began, Gruden dumped the Raiders’ best defensive player and sent Kahlil Mack to the Chicago Bears for a first rounder. Then in the middle of the season, Gruden traded away their top receiver.
Cooper quickly became Dak Prescott’s favorite target with 5 touchdowns in the last three games. Cooper scored three touchdowns against the Eagles, including the game winner in overtime. He also set a career high with 217 receiving yards, which also marked the highest total from a receiver this season.
“I didn’t know we were going to get all that, honestly,” said teammate Ezekiel Elliott. “But when I finally saw him in person, when I saw him catch the ball, I saw him run around and run after the catch, that’s when I really realized he’s truly special. You guys saw that. He took over that game at the end when we needed him. I’m glad to have that guy on the same side as me.”
The Cowboys are 5-1 since Cooper arrived. Not only did he save Jason Garrett’s head coaching job, but he salvaged an entire season. The Cowboys are in first place in the NFC East and have their eyes on doing damage in the playoffs after picking off Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints last week.
BALLGAME!!! @dallascowboys pic.twitter.com/WjLHNaOOR4
— The Checkdown (@thecheckdown) December 10, 2018
Seattle Longshot
The Seattle Seahawks are currently 30-1 favorites to win the Super Bowl. While they lack the same star power as other teams, they still have Russell Wilson and boast the best running attack in the NFL. The tandem of Rashaad Penny and Chris Carson is responsible for 153.8 yards per game. In a pass-happy league, the Seahawks are kicking it old school and have exactly 2,000 rushing yards for the season.
The Seahawks took down the Minnesota Vikings on Monday Night Football in a Week 14 match up that pitted two NFC Wild Card teams against each other.
