While Kansas City and the LA Rams battle it out to be the best in the NFL, there’s an equally spirited competition for the worst NFL team. MyBookie has a prop bet for those who want to wager on the league’s most futile squad.
The Australia-based sportsbook has San Francisco and Arizona as the favorites at +250. The Oakland Raiders are next at +300, followed by the New York Giants at +350.
The answer might come this week as the 49ers travel to Phoenix to take on their hapless NFC Conference cohorts. The line opened as a pick ’em, but some sportsbooks have Arizona a 1-point favorite.
Some of the candidates the sportsbook doesn’t have are the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns. They are included in the field at +175. The Bills are 2-5, and have lost games by 21, 32, and 44 points.
They are also without rookie quarterback Josh Allen, who suffered a right elbow injury and is listed as week-to-week. The situation in Buffalo is so desperate that the team signed 35-year-old QB Derek Anderson to replace him.
The Browns are 2-4-1 and in Cleveland that is considered progress. It is if you realize the team has won one more game this year as they did in the previous two seasons.
Rookie Baker Mayfield has given hope to the “Mistake by the Lake,” though this week they face a Steelers team on the road who they gave an embarrassing tie to in the season opener. The Browns are an 8-point underdog.
Injury Plagues San Francisco
Both the frontrunners for worst team are in the NFC West, though the Cardinals and 49ers, both 1-6, had different outlooks before the season began.
San Francisco had playoff aspirations in preseason. The team was a 3/1 pick to win the conference, and a 20/1 selection to win the Super Bowl.
Franchise quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was the main reason for the optimism. The 26-year-old was traded to San Francisco by the New England Patriots, with five games remaining last season. The 49ers were 1-9, and he proceeded to lead the team to five more victories and a 6-10 record.
This season, San Fran was 1-1 and facing undefeated Kansas City in Week 3. Garappolo was injured with six minutes remaining when he scrambled away from Chiefs defenders. He tore his ACL and was lost for the season.
So was the team’s chances of making the playoffs. Since his injury, the team has gone 0-4, and lost last week to the first-place Rams, 39-10.
The Niners are now a 250/1 choice to win the conference, and a 5000/1 longshot to win the Super Bowl.
How Low Can Arizona Go?
The Cardinals never held out much hope of doing anything this season. The team was a 16/1 pick to win the NFC West, and a 40/1 choice to win the Lombardi Trophy. Now their odds have dropped to 250/1 to win the conference and 5000/1 to capture the Super Bowl.
Arizona fired offensive coordinator Mike McCoy after the team’s embarrassing 45-10 loss to Denver last week. The team also now has one of its star players wanting to jump ship.
ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter than All-Pro cornerback Patrick Peterson has requested a trade by the Oct. 30 league deadline. “Peterson feels as if the situation is deteriorating and continues to reaffirm to others that he “desperately” wants out, per source,” Schefter wrote.