Heading into Week 9 of the 17-week NFL regular season schedule marks the halfway point. Some teams have already played their way out of the postseason while others are in an excellent position to make a run at a conference title and a spot in Super Bowl LIV in Miami on Sunday, Feb. 2.
BetOnline Sportsbook has been closely tracking the first-half results to release its updated NFL futures to win the AFC and NFC Championship this season. Even with a few strong frontrunners for each title on the board, there is still some substantial value to be found in the betting odds further down the list.
AFC Championship Futures Odds
Favorite
When a team starts the season a perfect 8-0 as the defending Super Bowl champion, there is a good chance that this team will be favored to win another conference championship. Everything has gone right for the New England Patriots in the first half of the season in pursuit of their third Super Bowl title in four years.
The Patriots have outscored their opponents 250-61 with their defense scoring enough points to win a few games on their own. This kind of dominating performance has New England set as a -150 odds-on favorite to win another AFC title. It would be hard to go against the Patriots right now, but there is still a whole second half of football to be played.
Top-Valued Contenders
The main issue with going against New England is finding another AFC team to takes its place. The 5-3 Kansas City Chiefs and the 5-2 Baltimore Ravens are next on the list as +700 second-favorites.
The Ravens will get a chance to take down the Patriots this Sunday night as 3.5-point home underdogs, and the Chiefs will get their opportunity on Dec. 8 as likely road underdogs in that matchup. Of the two, Kansas City still has the better value as long as quarterback Patrick Mahomes can stay healthy in his return to the starting lineup. He suffered a knee injury in Week 7.
Also, on the shortlist of contenders in the AFC are Indianapolis (+1000), Houston (+1600), and Pittsburgh (+1600).
NFC Championship Futures Odds
Favorite
The NFC is a much more competitive race to the top, but halfway through the season, the 7-1 New Orleans Saints get the nod as +225 favorites. The big plus with this pick is the return of Drew Brees at quarterback, even though his team won five games in his absence.
Having a veteran like Brees under center provides the needed stability on offense to make another deep playoff run. Add in the motivation of two bitter losses in the last two postseasons, and the Saints do offer the best betting value on the board to win the NFC this time around. One other injury concern is all-purpose running back Alvin Kamara. He has already missed his last two starts, and New Orleans will need him healthy for that deep playoff run.
Top-Valued Contenders
The next NFC team on the list is the San Francisco 49ers at +400. I am not entirely discounting the team’s surprising 7-0 start, but I do not see the 49ers playing at that level against the best teams in the conference come playoff time.
My top-valued NFC contender at +500 betting odds is the 7-1 Green Bay Packers. Similar to the Saints, this team’s hopes for a return trip to the Super Bowl rest on the shoulders of Aaron Rodgers. He has been making a strong case for league MVP with his elevated play the last few games at the quarterback position.
This is another highly motivated team coming off back-to-back losing seasons. The Packers will not face the Saints in the regular season, so getting the No. 1 seed and home-field advantage in the playoffs could mean the difference between losing or winning with this futures play.
The shortlist of other NFC contenders include Minnesota (+800), Dallas (+1000), Philadelphia (+1200) and the Los Angeles Rams (+1200).
