Only eight teams remain in the hunt for the Super Bowl trophy. The Kansas City Chiefs are the consensus favorites to win Super Bowl 55, and they top the futures board at DraftKings at +200 odds. The Green Bay Packers, the top seed in the NFC, are the second-highest team on the futures board at +375 odds. America’s new favorite team, the Buffalo Bills, are +600 odds to win their first-ever Super Bowl.
Only the #1 playoff seeds in each conference were awarded a bye during the expanded wild-card round, which meant 12 teams slugged it out for a spot in the divisional round next weekend.
Both #6 seeds, the LA Rams in the NFC and the Cleveland Browns in the AFC, advanced over the #3 seed. During the “coinflip” games between the #4 and #5 seed, the #5 seeds prevailed. The #2 seeds, Buffalo in the AFC and New Orleans in the NFC, both survived their wild-card showdowns against the #7 seeds.
| SUPER BOWL 55 ODDS & FUTURES |
| NOW | LAST WEEK | |
| Kansas City Chiefs | +200 | +175 |
| Green Bay Packers | +375 | +500 |
| Buffalo Bills | +600 | +700 |
| New Orleans Saints | +600 | +1000 |
| Baltimore Ravens | +800 | +1400 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +900 | +1200 |
| LA Rams | +1600 | +3000 |
| Cleveland Browns | +2500 | +3000 |
Teams that failed to advance out of the wild-card round included Indianapolis Colts, Seattle Seahawks, Pittsburgh Steelers, Tennessee Titans, Chicago Bears, and the Washington Football Team.
Super Bowl Futures: Green Bay and Kansas City Front-Runners
If you follow the money, it’s no surprise that the majority of the public’s action is on the #1 seeds.
Since the last Super Bowl ended, the Kansas City Chiefs (14-2) were among the favorites to win Super Bowl 55. Andy Reid sat his starters in Week 17, and Kansas City comes into the divisional round well-rested. Kansas City opened as a 10-point favorite over Cleveland next Sunday. You can back the Chiefs at +200 odds on the futures board.
When the season ended, the Green Bay Packers (13-3) secured the top seed in the NFC and were +500 odds to win the Super Bowl. You can currently find the Packers at +375 odds on the NFL championship futures board. Aaron Rodgers is a near-lock to win his third MVP, and he’s been on a heck of a heater during one of the best seasons of his Hall of Fame career.
AFC Championship Bound: Lamar Jackson or Josh Allen?
Lamar Jackson finally got off the schneid with his first postseason victory. The Baltimore Ravens were 0-2 in the last two postseasons, including a disappointing elimination by the Tennessee Titans last January.
The Ravens avenged last year’s devastating loss, and a regular-season loss this year, with a dominating 20-13 victory in the AFC wild-card game. Baltimore’s smothering run defense neutralized Derrick Henry and allowed him only 40 yards on 18 carries.
Jackson rushed for 136 yards and a touchdown. He also threw for 179 yards and a touchdown in his first postseason victory.
The Ravens began the playoffs as the “hot team,” which is one of the reasons they offered solid value at +1400 on the Super Bowl futures board. They saw their odds dip to +800 as they reached the final eight.
The Buffalo Bills and Josh Allen have quickly won over the hearts and minds of everyone who’s not from Western New York and eastern Canada. The Bills held off Philip Rivers and the Indianapolis Colts 27-24 to secure a spot in the divisional round. The Bills Mafia get a second-straight home game, yet face a difficult challenge trying to thwart L-Jax and the red-hot Ravens.
Last week, the Bills were +700 on the futures board, but right now, you can back them to win the Super Bowl at +600 odds.
Old Man Futures: Brady and Bucs or Brees and Saints?
Tom Brady and Drew Brees spent their careers in different conferences, but they’ve spent this past season as division rivals. The New Orleans Saints knocked off the Tampa Bay Bucs twice this season, but can Who Dat nation pull off the sweep in the divisional round next Sunday? The Saints opened as -3.5 favorites at the Superdome.
Heading into the postseason, the Saints were +1000 on the futures board, but now you can back them to win the Super Bowl at +600 odds. Word on the street in the Big Easy is that Brees will retire at the end of this season, making this the last chance to for him to win one more Super Bowl with Sean Payton.
The Tampa Bay Bucs busted the bank to sign Tom Brady, who proved to everyone that he still had plenty of gas in his tank for a senior citizen, as far as quarterbacks are concerned. The Bucs were a popular pick to win the Super Bowl ever since word got out that Brady was leaving New England for Tampa. At the end of the regular season, you could bet the Bucs for +1200 odds on the Super Bowl futures board. Right now, that price is only +900.
Super Bowl Long Shots: Rams and Browns
Don’t let Sean McVay get a lead on you in the first half. The Los Angeles Rams are now 37-0 under McVay when they lead at halftime.
The Rams went on the road and defeated the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC wild card. The Rams jumped out to a 20-10 lead against their NFC West divisional rival, despite losing their new starting quarterback John Wolford to a neck injury. They were forced to play Jared Goff, who is still recovering from thumb surgery. It wasn’t pretty, but the Rams held off Seattle 30-20. The Rams secured a spot in the NFC divisional round and will now face the top-seeded Green Bay Packers on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.
The Rams were +3000 on the NFL futures board last week, but you can now back them at +1600 odds to win Super Bowl 55.
The Cleveland Browns pulled off the biggest “upset” of wild-card weekend. Even without a head coach, the Browns knocked off their AFC North division rival, the Pittsburgh Steelers. The Browns jumped out to a 28-0 lead in the first quarter and never looked back. They held off a second-half rally by the Steelers to lock up a spot in the AFC divisional round. The Browns will face Patrick Mahomes and the #1 seeded Kansas City Chiefs next Sunday, where they’re +10 underdogs.
Baker Mayfield and the Browns are the long shot on the NFL futures board at +2500 odds to win the Super Bowl.