Super Bowl 56 Odds Thru Week 8: Public Betting the Bills, Bucs, Rams

The NFL season heads into its midway point, but after eight weeks the Buffalo Bills are the outright consensus favorite to win Super Bowl 56 at +500 odds. The Bills are betting favorites ahead of the defending champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+650) and Los Angeles Rams (+800).

The Green Bay Packers ended the Arizona Cardinals undefeated season on Sunday and they both lead the NFC with a 7-1 record. The Packers are now +900 odds to win Super Bowl 56, while the Cardinals are +1000.

The Kansas City Chiefs saw the biggest drop off since the season began. It tool bettors nearly two months to finally figure out that Mahomes is having an off year and the Chiefs are not as good as they were in the last three seasons.

The Chiefs stumbled out of the gate with a 1-2 start and by Week 3, they were no longer the consensus betting favorite. Since then their Super Bowl odds dropped from +600 to +1400.

Anyone Challenge the Bills Mafia?

The Bills opened the season at +1100 odds to win the Super Bowl, but they gradually improved week-by-week. Right now, you can back the Bills at +500 odds to win their first Super Bowl. Even stat geeks and analytic nerds will agree that the Buffalo Bills were the top team in the NFL in the first half of the season. The numbers back up what everyone else has already seen. The Bills have a juggernaut offense and their defense is one of the best in the league.

The Bills average a league-leading 32.7 ppg, while their stifling defense allows an NFL-best 15.6 ppg. According to DVOA, the Bills are the best by a wide margin over the Arizona Cardinals and New Orleans Saints.

The Tampa Bay Bucs lost a couple of games, but they still look like the team to beat in the NFC. Their Super Bowl futures have been steady all season, but they’re the second-best option on the board at +650 odds to win back-to-back championships.

SB 56 Valuetown: Rams, Ravens, Cards

The Los Angeles Rams excelled in their first big test of the season when they hosted the Tampa Bay Bucs in Week 3. They lost to the Cards in Week 4 though for their lone blemish of the season. The Rams recently beat up on a trio of bottom feeders over the last three weeks, but their next three weeks will be a true test of their fortitude with the Titans visiting LA in Week 9 and then two road games against the San Francisco 49ers in Week 10 and the Green Bay Packers in Week 12.

The Baltimore Ravens looked great while riding high on a five-game winning streak before they shat the bed last week in a blowout against the Cincinnati Bengals. Lamar Jackson and the Ravens offer solid value at +1000 odds after they steadily increased in the first eight weeks from +1800 to +1200 to +1000.

The Arizona Cardinals are the big surprise this season after a 7-0 start. Kyler Murray is banged up now, but they’ll need a healthy Murray if they expect to inflict damage in January. The Cards saw their Super Bowl odds make the biggest leap from +3500 in preseason to +2000 in Week 4 and +1000 after Week 8.

Better Luck Next Year with Super Bowl 57

Yes, there’s 13 teams in this batch, which makes it a baker’s dozen of teams without a shot at a Super Bowl this season. The Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos both started out 3-0 but they took advantage of a soft schedule. Once they met better teams, the reality sunk in that they better start focusing on next season.

The hapless Detroit Lions are the last winless team in the NFL. You can take a flier on a prop bet on whether the Lions finally win a game or finish the season a historic 0-17.