Okay BetUS online betting enthusiasts, with the 2020 NFL regular season steamrolling into its annual stretch run portion, now is a perfect time to look at the current NFC playoff betting analysis.
Could the streaking New Orleans Saints cash in as the prohibitive NFC Championship odds favorite? Will the Seattle Seahawks, Los Angeles Rams or blossoming Arizona Cardinals challenge the odds to win the NFC West and the conference crown?
Could a lesser favored underdog rise up to reach the playoffs while pulling off a series of improbable postseason upsets to win the conference crown?
A handful of NFC teams are looking to either improve on their current sportsbook betting playoff positions or get into the postseason mix altogether. Let’s find out which teams are looking good against their respective NFL odds and which ones aren’t.
NFC Playoff Betting Analysis
New Orleans Saints
The Saints are sitting pretty at a conference-leading 8-2. The prohibitive favorites to win the NFC at +240, New Orleans has reeled off seven straight wins heading into its Week 12 road date against the Denver Broncos. While star quarterback Drew Brees is going to be out for an extended period of time, the Saints looked rock-solid in their 24-9 smackdown of the Atlanta Falcons with backup Taysom Hill under center.
New Orleans ranks a stellar fifth in scoring (29.5 ppg), but more importantly, the Saints are playing defense at a high level in ranking third in total defense and eighth in points allowed (22.2 ppg). New Orleans has only one remaining game against a team with a winning record and that means the NFC South division leaders are in the driver’s seat to get the top seed in the NFC and the accompanying first-round bye that comes along with it.
NFL Hall of Fame defensive back Rod Woodson is on Unfiltered!
Los Angeles Rams
The LA Rams (7-3) are up to a +500 pick to win the NFC after being a +1000 selection just a couple of weeks ago. Los Angeles has won two straight and three of four while looking fantastic in beating Seattle and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers the last two weeks.
Aaron Donald is wreaking havoc up front and Jalen Ramsey has locked down every team’s No. 1 wideout. LA ranks a modest 17th in scoring (24.3 ppg), but the Rams have been one of the stingiest teams in the league on defense by ranking first in total defense and second in points allowed (19.2 ppg). Jared Goff and company have two matchups against the division rival Cardinals and another meeting against Seattle on the docket before the end of the regular season and that means nothing is etched in stone for the Rams right now. Still, the way LA has played defense this season makes the Rams look like a tough out for any of their conference rivals.
Check out the NFL Week 12 Power Rankings right here!
Green Bay Packers
The Packers (7-3) are sitting atop the NFC North division standings and are +485 favorites to win the NFC. However, the Green Bay Packers certainly aren’t playing their best football right now and some cracks have shown with the Packers dropping two of their last four including an embarrassing 34-31 overtime loss against the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday that saw them limited to just three second-half points.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks (7-3) are a +425 pick to claim the NFC conference crown while heading into their Week 12 road date against the Philadelphia Eagles tied for the NFC West lead with the Los Angeles Rams. Russell Wilson and company picked up an impressive 28-21 home win against NFC West rival Arizona by mostly shutting down Kyler Murray and Arizona’s high-powered offense. Seattle ranks second in scoring (31.8 ppg) and Russell Wilson is looking like his NFL MVP odds of +250 are fitting, with a league-leading 30 TD passes. More importantly, the Seahawks looked like they’ve turned a corner defensively after giving up points like they were going out of style through 10 weeks.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers
The Buccaneers (7-4) are a +1000 pick to win Super Bowl 55. Tom Brady and company aren’t playing well right now as they head into their Week 12 matchup against the Kansas City Chiefs. They’ve lost two of three, including a humbling 27-24 home loss against the Rams in a Monday night NFL Matchup. Tampa Bay ranks sixth in scoring (29.1 ppg) and 10th in points allowed (23.0 ppg), but the Bucs and Brady have some very real problems against teams that can apply pressure up the middle. The good news is that Tampa Bay has only one remaining game against a team with a winning record while finishing the regular season with a pair of games against the Falcons and the Detroit Lions.
Arizona Cardinals
The Cardinals (6-4) have also dropped two of three including a humbling 28-21 loss against NFC West rival Seattle on Sunday, but Arizona looks dangerous with a capital ‘D’ for several reasons. The Cardinals rank first in total offense and seventh in scoring (28.7 ppg) while also ranking a solid 14th in points allowed (23.8 ppg). Quarterback Kyler Murray is clearly one of the best dual threat signal-callers in the league as he’s put up 19 TD passes and 10 rushing scores. The Cards are on the road against the New England Patriots on Sunday and have a pair of games remaining against the division rival Rams. The good news is that Arizona has what looks like easily winnable games against the New York Giants, Eagles and San Francisco 49ers still remaining.
Philadelphia
It’s kind of laughable that the Philadelphia Eagles (3-6-1) are even the playoff mix with just three wins heading into Week 12, but that’s been the state of the NFC Least this season. The Birds have dropped two straight and four of six, but I’m thinking Philly could very well lose their next four games against Seattle, Green Bay, New Orleans and Arizona. The Eagles also finish up with a pair of division matchups against the Dallas Cowboys and at home against Washington and neither of those affairs look like lock victories.
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears (5-5) are still in the playoff mix, but even if they get in, I don’t think they’ve got any chance whatsoever of cashing in against their +4000 odds to win the NFC title. While Chicago has what looks like winnable matchups against Detroit, the Houston Texans and Jacksonville Jaguars, the Bears look like a team that won’t beat Green Bay in their two remaining division matchups – or the Minnesota Vikings, for that matter. Chicago ranks sixth in points allowed (20.9 ppg), but it’s kind of hard to win games when you can’t score and the Bears rank an abysmal 31st in scoring (19.1 ppg).
Minnesota, Detroit and San Francisco are all still mathematically alive with identical 4-6 records, but the Vikings are the only team of the three that looks even remotely like a playoff contender in this NFC playoff betting analysis, if you ask me.
Here is a look at the latest Super Bowl Odds
Here’s a look at what the NFC playoffs would look like if the regular season ended today:
No. 1 New Orleans Saints (first-round bye)
Arizona Cardinals (No. 7) vs Los Angeles Rams (No. 2)
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (No. 6) vs Green Bay Packers (No. 3)
Seattle Seahawks (No. 5) vs Philadelphia Eagles (No. 4)
