Odds to Win the 2016-17 NFC Championship

By David Schwab

The countdown to a new season in the NFL is on and BetOnline has recently updated its futures odds to win the NFC Championship. Carolina comes in as the defending champs but the current odds point to a changing of the guard in 2016.

NFC Championship 2016 Futures Odds

The first step to winning a Super Bowl is winning the conference title and BetOnline has recently updated its future odds to win for all 16 teams in the NFC. It should be a great battle to the bitter end, but there is still only one team that can come out on top.

NFC East

The Dallas Cowboys faded to 4-12 last season after winning this division in 2014 when veteran quarterback Tony Romo went down, but they come into this season with the best odds in the East to win the conference at +900. The New York Giants (+1400) could keep things interesting if new head coach Ben McAdoo can revitalize a team that is still loaded with quite a bit of talent.

Washington won the NFC East last year at 9-7 but the Redskins are expected to take a step backwards as +3000 longshots to win the conference along with Philadelphia (+3000).

NFC North

Green Bay has been a perennial favorite to win the NFC North for the past several years, but the Packers’ second-half slide led to a disappointing 10-6 record and second place finish in 2015. They are +450 third-favorites to turn things around and win the NFC this year. Minnesota’s odds to win the conference are set at +900 after winning the NFC Central last season at 11-5.

Both Chicago (+3300) and Detroit (+3600) have some of the longest odds on the board to win the NFC in what could be rebuilding year for both teams.

NFC South

Carolina opens the 2016 season as the defending NFC champ, but the Panthers’ odds to repeat have been set at +500 as fourth favorites. Losing a Super Bowl tends to take its toll and a step backwards from a stellar 15-1 record is almost inevitable. The Panthers are still heavy favorites to win their division based on Atlanta’s +3000 odds to win the NFC.

Tampa Bay has the third longest odds to win the conference out of the South at +3600 and the prospect for a turnaround in New Orleans after posting back-to-back 7-9 seasons does not look to good at +4000 odds to win the NFC.

NFC West

The division race in the NFC West once again appears to be a two team affair between Seattle and Arizona. The Seahawks finished second last season at 10-6, but they have been opened as +375 favorites to return to the Super Bowl after making back-to-back appearances in 2013 and 2014. The Cardinals won the West at 13-3 last year but they could not get past Carolina in the conference title game. Their betting odds to win the NFC this time around are set at +400.

The new-look Los Angeles Rams’ odds to win the conference are set at +3300 and with new head coach Chip Kelly leading the way in San Francisco the 49ers have the longest odds on the board at +5000

NFC Title Prediction

I have Dallas coming out of the NFC East and Carolina once again winning the South. Seattle might be able to edge-out Arizona this time around in the West, but nobody in the NFC is getting past Green Bay in 2016.

The Packers come into the new season highly motivated for a much longer run this time around with the league’s top quarterback Aaron Rodgers leading the way. With the Seahawks and the Cardinals beating each other up in that division race, I really like Green Bay’s chances to win enough regular season games to earn that highly coveted home field advantage throughout the playoffs.