Vegas says NFC is 4-team race
The NFL futures are always a good way to tell what Vegas really thinks of the teams going down the proverbial stretch. The NFC has been something of an enigma for the most part, with teams such as the Green Bay Packers and Minnesota Vikings rising and falling with each week.
The only two constants have been the Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals, and not shockingly, they are getting the best odds to win the conference, via BOVADA. Both Carolina and Arizona are being giving +225 odds, the best of the bunch. Carolina is 12-0 while Arizona is 11-2, coming off its win over the Vikings on Thursday night at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Beyond that pair, the Seattle Seahawks – who currently sit sixth in the postseason standings, are giving the third-best odds at +400. The Packers come in a close fourth at +500, but that is where Vegas is drawing the line of contender and pretender. The following three teams are the Vikings, Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants, whoa re all at +2500.
Those numbers have to make a Minnesota fan irate. The Vikings are 8-5 and clearly one of the best six teams in the conference, albeit not a serious title contender due to a maturing quarterback, bad offensive line and middling receivers. Yet the Vikings are certainly better than the Cowboys, who are 4-8 and starting the woeful Matt Cassel under center. The Giants are fairly close in personnel, but are 5-7 and look like the part of a bad team which will beat itself too much.
Vegas clearly thinks either the Panthers, Cardinals, Seahawks or Packers will be representing the NFC in Super Bowl 50 at Santa Clara, Calif. The smart money would be on Carolina and Arizona, which will likely both have BYE weeks in the first round and subsequently host a playoff game if not two. Seattle has the toughest road of the bunch. The Seahawks will probably end up as the fifth seed and crush whoever wins the NFC East, but then there is a very likely trip to Carolina, followed by a game at either Arizona or Green Bay.
Despite the pedigree and character of the Seahawks, that is a huge ask.
Down the stretch, it should be very interesting to see which teams rise and fall in the eyes of Vegas. Which team will have a crippling injury or which group will get ultra hot over the final month of the regular season? By the beginning of the postseason, things will be looking much differently than they do now, if only because somebody will find themselves, and another will get lost.
Here is to a terrific final four weeks, followed by some moving and shaking from the oddsmakers in Vegas.
