A Quick Look at NFL Futures & the Playoffs

Along with some NCAA futures, I also found the NFL futures at both BetUS & Pinnacle Sports. By using the lines you can get a feel for what Vegas thinks is most likely to happen in the NFL this season. Instead of giving odds on who will win the Super Bowl or what not, I took the futures on total wins and came up with what is the most likely playoff scenario in both leagues. Here is how both sportsbooks combined see things happening.

DEFINITE NFC PLAYOFF TEAMS

Dallas Cowboys
Minnesota Vikings
Green Bay Packers
New Orleans Saints
Atlanta Falcons
San Francisco 49ers

TEAMS FIGHTING IT OUT

Arizona Cardinals
Seattle Seahawks
Philadelphia Eagles
New York Giants

Both of the sportsbook are pretty definite when it comes to the NFC. Dallas & San Francisco are the clear cut favorites to win their respective division while the Packers/Vikings & Saints/Falcons will battle to win their own with the loser having to settle for a Wild Card berth.

There is definitely room for drama in some divisions. The 49ers are only about a game or a game and a half ahead of both Arizona & Seattle. If injuries/luck break against the 49ers then you could easily see the Cardinals & Seahawks possibly contending. I’d most likely go with Seattle as the Cardinals have Matt Leinart under center. The Wild Card isn’t coming out of the NFC West so it’s a division title or no playoff opportunity.

The Giants & Eagles don’t look to have a great chance to beat Dallas for the NFC East crown, but they do have a shot at getting to 10 wins possibly and threatening the 2nd place finishers in the South & North for one of the final playoff spots.

Still, the sportsbooks seem pretty definite when it comes to the outcomes in the NFC. The odds are that Dallas, New Orleans, Atlanta, Green Bay, Minnesota & San Francisco make the playoffs. That will certainly disappoint Eagles & Giants fans, but the story will be if one of the top-6 don’t get in.

DEFINITE AFC PLAYOFF TEAMS

New England Patriots
Indianapolis Colts
Baltimore Ravens
San Diego Chargers

TEAMS FIGHTING IT OUT

New York Jets
Tennessee Titans
Houston Texans
Pittsburgh Steelers
Miami Dolphins
Cincinnati Bengals
Denver Broncos

The AFC is a little more wide open than the NFC, but not so much in the divisions. The Patriots could find some opposition from the Jets, but Vegas thinks Indianapolis, San Diego & Baltimore are the overwhelming favorites to win their divisions. There won’t be any questions about who the top-3 seeds in the AFC are.

The big difference between the AFC & NFC is that NFC teams are probably looking at needing 10 wins to make the playoffs as a Wild Card squad. Vegas thinks the 49ers are more like a 9-7 win team, but they don’t have to win the Wild Card to get in. In the AFC, it looks more like a 9-7 team will be good enough to get into the postseason which opens the door for a lot of other teams.

It seems to me that the Dolphins, Broncos & Steelers probably have the most difficult road ahead. The Dolphins are thought to be the 3rd best team in the AFC East the playoff picture would have to workout in a way that would send 3 AFC East teams to the playoffs and that’s unlikely. The Steelers are without Roethlisberger for at least 4-6 games which hurts. Denver has a shot, but I think the Raiders & Chiefs are going to be decent making life more difficult for the Broncos.

The Wild Cards right now look to be coming from the East & South meaning the Jets, Patriots, Titans & Texans are in the running.

Pretty interesting stuff.

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