The new season of the NFL begins on September 6th. This will the Super Bowl LIII season and heading back into the season as the reigning champions are the Philadelphia Eagles. They will be starting off the season in the opening match against the Atlanta Falcons.
The Eagles are the second favourites to get their hands back on the title this season at 9/1 odds with Betvictor, behind only the 5/1 power favourites the New England Patriots* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
That is just the Super Bowl odds but there are so many more opportunities in terms of outright markets when looking ahead to the NFL season.
There are the Divisional Titles and the Conference Titles to all take stock off and here we are going to preview the strongest runners ahead of the new NFL season in some of those markets.
AFC Preview & Contenders
What you have here is the New England Patriots as the usual ones to beat right from the get-go. They have kept veteran quarterback Tom Brady around while strangely shipping off his backups. They are all-in him. They have a pretty bad injury list with the likes of Danny Amendola having to miss the start of the season.
The season for the Pats probably isn’t going to fall apart in the offence buy in defence they have been looking a little more laboured over the past couple of seasons. They still look well worth a punt at 5/6 odds with Betvictor to go over 11.5 wins for the season* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
Their main challengers in the Conference is likely to be the Pittsburgh Steelers who have the attack to power their way deep into the postseason. Will this be the season that Ben Roethlisberger plays his last season as their quarterback? Time will tell. He has some fantastic targets in his offensive line up and really the only step forward that they can make from last term is sharpening up in defence to try and get closer to the Pats.
AFC Winner Odds*
New England Patriots 7/4
Pittsburgh Steelers 9/2
Jacksonville Jaguars 17/2
Houston Texans 10/1
LA Chargers 11/1
Kansas City Chiefs 14/1
Oakland Raiders 15/1
Denver Broncos 15/1
Tennessee Titans 20/1
Baltimore Ravens 20/1
Indianapolis Colts 30/1
Buffalo Bills 30/1
Cincinnati Bengals 40/1
Cleveland Browns 40/1
New York Jets 60/1
* (betting odds taken from BetVictor on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
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The Jaguars were almost a major thorn in the side of the Patriots last season in the AFC. Jacksonville picked up a dozen wins in the regular season and really had the beating of the Patriots in the Conference Championship before they tried unsuccessfully to shut up shop against them.
In the challenge to the Patriots in the AFC this season, Pittsburgh have the offence, but it is the Jaguars who have the defence. Out of the three front-runners in the AFC title challenge, it is the Jags who tops that. There’s every reason to believe that they will be stronger than last season and over 9.5 wins for the season is at 21/20 odds at BetVictor* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
Of the teams who could pull off a surprise run in the AFC is Baltimore who play with a great defence. There is a good blend of experience and this is a team which showed last season that when they need to grind things out on those road trips they can do the business. If they can keep their key players healthy in defence then they could be in for a solid season and they can be backed at 20/21 odds at BetVictor on over 8.5 wins* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
AFC Prediction
The slowing defence and injuries to the Patriots could take its toll on them this season and we are going to oppose them in the AFC. The balance that the Jaguars have really piqued our interest and they are 17/2 odds with Betvictor to get the title* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
NFC Preview
Overall the NFC is infinitely more competitive than the AFC. The Conference just has a wider band of contenders lining it. The reigning Super Bowl Champions the Philadelphia Eagles are the outright favourites to win the NFC at 5/1 odds* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am). By all accounts as good as they were last season they just look stacked to the brim with talent and depth. It wouldn’t be any kind of a shock to see them get close to defending their title. Quarterback stand-in Nick Foles who led them to Gilroy will have to take a back seat as Carson Wentz return.
So they could be better. There have been changes in their offensive coaching personnel but they players they have just trumped everyone else in the division. They operate their rotation policy so manage their players well and they are 20/23 odds at Betvictor to collect over 10.5 wins during the regular season* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am). They are the ones to beat even though there are a couple of teams right there in terms of odds.
NFC Winner Odds*
Philadelphia Eagles 5/1
LA Rams 13/2
Green Bay Packers 5/1
Minnesota Vikings 7/1
New Orleans Saints 10/1
Atlanta Falcons 10/1
Dallas Cowboys 10/1
San Francisco 10/1
Carolina Panthers 10/1
Seattle Seahawks 16/1
Detroit Lions 20/1
Washington Redskins 25/1
New York Giants 28/1
Tampa Bay Buccaneers 28/1
Chicago Bears 50/1
Arizona Cardinals 50/1
* (betting odds taken from BetVictor on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am).
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The Rams won the NFC West last term and they have a strong enough core in place to go and pull off a repeat of that. The Rams are 8/11 to top the division* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am). They just look very well balanced and with a couple of bold and gutsy acquisitions over the summer, their depth is going to serve them well again.
The Green Bay Packers suffered from quarterback Aaron Rodgers breaking his collarbone. That injury was the demise of their entire season. He is that pivotal to them and his injury really highlighted an issue that the Packers have. That is, they are lacking in specialist quality. Rodgers was making gold out of clay with what he had to work with. But they have made necessary coaching changes so could take a step in a more positive direction.
Back in the NFC title game last season the Minnesota Vikings were trounced by the all-powerful Eagles. They have moved for Kirk Cousins as the quarterback as he comes over from Washington with the hope of adding a bit more consistency and stability to their attack. The Vikings are a predominately attack-minded team and they do appear to have plugged the right holes over the summer. They should be well back in the mix.
Other contenders include the New Orleans Saints who is still led by Drew Brees and they have a solid enough setup. It may not quite be strong enough to power its way through the postseason, but a shot at the NFC South title at 9/5 odds over the Falcons* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am) is a decent punt. As for the Falcons, their defence doesn’t seem to be quite there and they don’t look to have recovered from imploding at the 2016 Super Bowl against the Patriots.
NFC Prediction
We don’t really see anyone touching the Rams this year in the race for NFC supremacy. They have such great depth in their ranks and a very settled set up. The ones we can see pushing them are the Vikings who appear to have made some very smart moves over the summer in trying to close the gap.
Super Bowl LII Odds
New England Patriots 5/1
Philadelphia Eagles 9/1
Pittsburgh Steelers 10/1
LA Rams 10/1
Green Bay Packers 11/1
Minnesota Vikings 12/1
New Orlean Saints 18/1
Atlanta Falcons 20/1
Jacksonville Jaguars 20/1
LA Chargers 20/1
Houston Texans 22/1
San Francisco 49erc
Kansas City Chiefs 33/1
Carolina Panthers 33/1
Bar 40/1
* (betting odds taken from BetVictor on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am)
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It is just too early to make a serious call on this. The Patriots are the 5/1 outright favourites* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am) which is a terrible price considering that they could well struggle with injuries and a declining defence.
There is much better value around in the market and perhaps none better than the 12/1 contnders that are the Minnesota Vikings* (betting odds taken on August 30th, 2018 at 3:23 am). They will make life difficult for anyone who visits them and are well worth considering. You should have a better idea of where this is going after the first few weeks of the regular season when teams are settled in.
