Slowly but surely, the 2024 NFL betting season is inching closer, with the start of training camps mid-thru-late July. NFL odds to win Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans have been out since the Kansas City Chiefs won the last title, one of any number of future wagers currently on the market.
As no team wins the Super Bowl without first making the playoffs (duh), one of the popular off-season predictions is trying to figure out who’s going to make the grade, and who won’t oblige.
The past few weeks have seen us examine four teams per story, and here’s the latest quartet…
Arizona Cardinals to Miss (-400)
The Arizona Cardinals were among the worst (4-13) teams in the NFL last season. That didn’t change, as this is a team that won just twice each at home and on the road.
With holes aplenty and playing in the tough NFC West, it’s not a pretty picture in the desert. Quarterback Kyler Murray (1,799 passing yards, 10 touchdowns, five interceptions) was both injured and inconsistent a season ago, though the addition of elite wideout Marvin Harrison Jr. plus some other skilled and ‘unskilled’ players ought to help.
Even so, and should the Cards win a few more games than 2023, the postseason is a pipedream. If you’re inclined to lay 4-1, Arizona missing the playoffs appears to be a gives me.
Baltimore Ravens to Make (-300)
The Baltimore Ravens appeared to be a legitimate Super Bowl contender last season, top-seeded in the AFC. A poor offensive effort against the Kansas City Chiefs in the conference title game doomed them, but this team ought to be a factor once again. Quarterback Lamar Jackson, reigning MVP, needs to stay healthy.
As the AFC North is perhaps the toughest division in the league, taking the Ravens at 4-17 (-325) might seem too small a return, but this team has missed the postseason just once since 2018 and should punch its ticket once again. It’s at 1-3 (-300), according to NFL playoff odds according to BetUS sportsbook.
Baltimore yielded the fewest points (280) in the league last season.
Dallas Cowboys to Make (-215)
It’s been three decades since the Dallas Cowboys last won a Super Bowl (XXX, to be exact), and their postseason resume isn’t pretty. However, they generally find their way into the playoffs
Quarterback Dak Prescott has been tremendous (4,516 passing yards, 36 touchdowns, nine interceptions) during the season, but ordinary (at best) when it counts. Here’s the thing about the NFC East…with the Philadelphia Eagles ‘iffy’ having imploded late last season, and non-entities in both the New York Giants and Washington Commanders, it won’t take much to have the Cowboys make hay in the division and make the postseason.
A small return wager, but difficult to envision Dallas, even with the prospect of Prescott departing town, not being the best NFC East foursome.
Philadelphia Eagles to Miss (+185)
When last we saw the Philadelphia Eagles, they were giving away the NFC East, then gagging in a wild-card game. This wasn’t the same outfit that won the NFC the previous season, and the questions continue. There were those wanting a coaching change, but that didn’t happen.
Quarterback Jalen Hurts threw 15 interceptions last season (third behind Sam Howell and Josh Allen), which was as many as the previous two seasons. This team has its share of weapons, but that’s been the case the past number of seasons.
It seems as if much would have to go wrong to keep the Eagles out of the postseason, but quirky things happen in this league each season. Philly is 7-1 (+700) to win the NFC, as per NFL conference odds.
We’re after some value here, so it’s the Eagles (+185) not qualifying.
