The NFL regular season is over and 14 teams qualified for the playoffs. At the start of the postseason, the Green Bay Packers are the consensus favorite to win Super Bowl 56 at +350 odds, according to the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas. The Kansas City Chiefs are right behind them at +400 odds to win their second Super Bowl in the last three years.
The defending-champion Tampa Bay Bucs are banged up and limp into the playoffs at +800 odds to win the Super Bowl in back-to-back seasons.
| Super Bowl 56 Odds |
| Now | Week 9 | Week 1 | |
| Green Bay Packers | +350 | +1200 | +1400 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | +400 | +1200 | +500 |
| Buffalo Bills | +700 | +600 | +1100 |
| LA Rams | +800 | +800 | +1200 |
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +800 | +550 | +550 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +1000 | +1200 | +3500 |
| Tennessee Titans | +1300 | +1000 | +3500 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | +2000 | +6500 | +10000 |
| New England Patriots | +2500 | +3500 | +3500 |
| San Francisco 49ers | +2500 | +13000 | +1400 |
| Arizona Cardinals | +3000 | +1000 | +3500 |
| Las Vegas Raiders | +40000 | +6000 | +6500 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | +80000 | +20000 | +5000 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | +80000 | +5000 | +3500 |
With Tom Brady at the helm, you still don’t want to play the Bucs in the postseason. If TV executives have their way, then Rodgers and Brady will slug it out in the NFC Championship game, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl to take on Mahomes and the Chiefs.
Top 5: Packers, Chiefs, Bills, Rams, Bucs
The Packers entered the season at +1400 odds to win the Super Bowl, mainly because there was a chance Rodgers sat out the year due to a dispute with the front office. Rodgers and the Packers agreed to one more season, and Rodgers secured them the #1 seed in the NFC once again with home-field advantage on the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field.
The Kansas City Chiefs were the preseason consensus team to win the Super Bowl, but they had a slow start. The Chiefs looked like their old selves in the second half of the season, despite only getting the #2 seed in the AFC.
The Buffalo Bills looked like they peaked too early with their Super Bowl odds at +400 around Halloween before variance bit them in the butt in November. The Bills are the #3 seed in the AFC, and the Bills Mafia will be out in full force this coming weekend. The Bills still have a good number at +700 odds.
The LA Rams won the NFC West and squandered a chance at the #2 seed. They tumbled to the #4 seed after an ugly overtime loss against the San Francisco 49ers on Sunday. The Rams are +800 odds to win the championship, but have a tough road ahead of them, including a wild-card game against division foe Arizona.
Fans and gamblers backed the Bucs most of the season to win back-to-back championships, but their odds dipped in the last few weeks from +450 in early December to +800 at the start of the playoffs.
AFC value picks: Titans, Bengals, Pats
The Tennessee Titans earned the #1 seed, yet they’re disrespected as the seventh team on the NFL futures board at +1300 odds to win the Super Bowl. Derrick Henry sat out Week 18 to rest up for the playoffs. He returned to practice this week after he missed half the season with a fractured foot. With Henry back in the lineup, the Titans are worthy of a flier.
The Cincinnati Bengals are the #4 seed after winning the AFC North crown. Joe Burrow and the Bengals are ahead of schedule and actually get to host a playoff game in the “Jungle” of Cincy. These aren’t your papa’s Bungles; these Bengals are +2000 odds to win a championship.
Never count out Bill Belichick in the postseason. The New England Patriots are a wild-card team with the #6 seed, but only +2500 odds to win another title for the Evil Empire.
NFC palookas: Cowboys, 49ers, Cardinals
The San Francisco 49ers looked like they were dead in the water in November, but went 7-2 in the second half of the season to sneak into the back door with an NFC wild-card berth with the #6 seed. The 49ers are also +2500 odds.
The Arizona Cardinals were the hottest team in the NFL in the first half of the season, but injuries to key players like Kyler Murray, and a COVID-19 outbreak, derailed them in the second half. The Cards still managed to snag a #5 seed, but they’re +3000 odds to win the big one.
The Dallas Cowboys won the NFC East and secured the #3 seed. They’ll host the #6 San Francisco 49ers in the NFC wild-card game. The Cowboys are +1000 odds to win Super Bowl 56 after starting the season at +3500 because no one knew if Dak Prescott could bounce back from a gnarly ankle injury from the previous season.
Super Bowl 56 Odds: Raiders, Eagles, Steelers long shots
The Pittsburgh Steelers had a 7% chance to advance to the playoffs heading into Week 18, but they pulled off a near miracle after the Indianapolis Colts were upset by the Jacksonville Jaguars, and the Las Vegas Raiders/LA Chargers game didn’t end in a tie despite the crazy fact the game headed into overtime. The Steelers locked up the #7 seed in the AFC wild card, but are a moon shot on the futures board at +80000 odds. Big Ben gets to extend his career for at least one more game before he retires.
The NFC East has been a dumpster fire the past few seasons, and widely viewed as the worst division in pro football. So, it’s somewhat of a surprise that two NFC East teams qualified for the postseason, including the Philadelphia Eagles, who secured an NFC wild-card berth as the #7 seed.
The Las Vegas Raiders also luck-boxed an AFC wild-card berth with the #5 seed after winning an overtime game on Sunday Night Football against the LA Chargers. They also benefited from the Jags’ upset over the Colts.