Super Bowl 52 Futures Ahead of Week 17: Seahawks Have Hope
SportsBettingDime.com has been tracking each team’s odds to win Super Bowl 52 since futures wagers were first made available. The duty has become much less tedious now, with only 15 teams still on the Super Bowl radar entering Week 17. Entering the final week of the regular season, here are the major movements in the Super Bowl 52 futures, along with how you (as a bettor) should react.
Seahawks Keep Slim Playoff Hopes Alive
Despite only totaling 136 yards of offense, the Seattle Seahawks managed to leave Dallas with a victory in Week 16, largely thanks to three Cowboy turnovers. The victory kept Seattle’s slim playoff hopes alive, while the loss eliminated Dallas from playoff contention.
The Seahawks’ average odds to win Super Bowl 52 are now +4300. It’s not a whole lot better than the +5300 they possessed last week, but it is a step in the right direction. The Seahawks are still as short as +2800. But most sportsbooks have a much more pessimistic view of Seattle’s odds to win Super Bowl 52, listing them at +7500.
EXPERT ADVICE: Like I said last week, please do not waste your money here. The Seattle defense is far from the dominant unit we’re accustomed to seeing. Do not buy into what you saw in Dallas during Week 16. There is no value here.
In order to even get into the playoffs, Pete Carroll’s squad needs two things to happen in Week 17:
- The Seahawks beat the Cardinals at CenturyLink Field
- The Panthers beat the Falcons in Atlanta
Neither of those occurrences is unreasonable, yet it would still only give Seattle the six-seed in the NFC. This would result in a trip to either Los Angeles, New Orleans, or Carolina in the Wild Card Round, and then a date in Philadelphia or Minnesota in the Divisional Round.
Even if Seattle’s defense were fully healthy, and Russell Wilson had a serviceable offensive line, their path to Super Bowl 52 would be too difficult to wager on.
The best value bets in the NFC remain the Los Angeles Rams (+960 average odds) and the New Orleans Saints (+960 average odds). You can get both at +1000 to win Super Bowl 52 on most sports betting sites.
Ravens Building Momentum in Super Bowl 52 Futures
With their Week 16 victory over the Indianapolis Colts, the Baltimore Ravens have won five of their last six, and now occupy a playoff spot in the AFC. Baltimore’s style of football is anything but sexy, which is why they continue to fly under the radar.
The Ravens’ average odds to win Super Bowl 52 now sit at +2600, after being as long as +8500 back on November 14. If you’re looking to bet on Joe Flacco and the Ravens’ fourth-ranked scoring defense, they are still +3300 at some sportsbooks.
EXPERT ADVICE: Before you start buying into Baltimore as one of the league’s hottest teams, let’s have a closer look at their last six weeks:
- Week 11: Ravens beat the Aaron Rodgers-less Packers 23-0 thanks to five Green Bay turnovers
- Week 12: Ravens beat the Texans 23-16 thanks to three Houston turnovers
- Week 13: Ravens beat the Lions 44-20 thanks to three Detroit turnovers
- Week 14: Ravens lose to the Steelers 39-38; Pittsburgh doesn’t commit a single turnover
- Week 15: Ravens beat the Browns 27-10 thanks to four Cleveland turnovers
- Week 16: Ravens beat the Colts 23-16
The combined records of the five teams they beat is 22-53. The Browns, Colts, and Texans are the three worst teams in the AFC. The Lions are the only team with a winning record Baltimore has beaten this season. The Ravens are winning games because their defense is obliterating terrible offenses (or at least they were before Jimmy Smith went down). This will not happen in the playoffs.
Baltimore’s defense has been entirely inconsistent this year (32nd in defensive DVOA variance), and the offense ranks 26th in total yards. Their league-leading 33 takeaways is not sustainable, especially on the road against offenses like the Patriots and Steelers. Allow Baltimore to continue flying under your radar, too.
If you’re looking for some value in the AFC, the Jaguars are your best option with average odds of +1400 to win Super Bowl 52. There is still value in sprinkling a little money on the Los Angeles Chargers at +10000 as well. Those teams have what it takes to slay the New England Patriots: opportunistic offenses and tough defenses that get after the passer.
After working in TV, Matt turned his focus towards numbers, specifically odds. He has been with us since 2016 and serves as SBD's Editor-in-Chief, credited with creating our futures trackers, SBD's score predictor, SBD Sharp, and his own model for calculating NFL SOS, among other products.
