Close, yet far. That’s how I feel about the pending NFL season.
It’s so close but while we are only a couple of weeks away, the ‘Rona is still peering out of a dark closet with beady, yellow eyes.
Questions remain. Will we get a full season? How will this all play out?
The only thing we can do is sit and wait in anticipation and go with the information we have right now.
NFL Odds on the Super Bowl Champ
If the season goes off without a hitch and we don’t end up with some sort of asterisked champion, the Super Bowl Champ should be either the Kansas City Chiefs or Baltimore Ravens.
1. Baltimore Ravens +550
2. Kansas City Chiefs +560
3. San Francisco 49ers +970
4. New Orleans Saints +1200
5. Seattle Seahawks +1300
As you can see, the Baltimore Ravens have overtaken the Chiefs at a few of the best sportsbooks to win the NFL title game in 2020. The next three in line all come out of the NFC, but the problem is, they are almost 200% less likely to win the Super Bowl if you look at the implied probability given by the betting odds.
But how accurate are these odds? Should anyone else be on the shortlist to play at Raymond James Stadium on February 7th, 2021?
The answer is simple, for the AFC no, but for the NFC, yes.
The Kansas City Chiefs and Baltimore Ravens have the AFC locked down. There just isn’t anyone that can beat them. Sure, they’ll probably each lose a couple of games in the regular season, but the only real threat to either of these teams in each other. We have the Tennessee Titans, who if they continue where they left off with Ryan Tannehill at the helm, they are a legitimate threat win the AFC south. That said, I don’t think they have a real shot at defeating the Chiefs or Ravens in the playoffs.
Meanwhile, over in the NFC, we have the Packers and the Vikings will give the Saints, Niners, and Seahawks a run for their money on any given Sunday. That said, the Packers didn’t get anything they should have gotten over the offseason. Their biggest, glaring hole all season long was targets for Rodgers. If you shut down DeVonte Adams, A-Rodg had nowhere to throw the ball. Despite this, they made it to the NFC Championship game.
So, it really was a shock to see how top brass in Green Bay handled the draft and offseason trades. Really, if I am completely honest, Green Bay upper management showed that they are completely inept. Just add another downfield threat, that’s all you had to do. Instead, they went looking for Rodgers’ future replacement and then didn’t even attempt to another pair or two of sticky hands to run routes.
So, when we look at the overall landscape of things, I do think the Packers have a great shot at making the playoffs along with the Vikes, and the NFC is competitive enough to make the race close. The Niners, Seahawks, and Saints are not going to prance into the playoffs bruise-less and full of energy like the Ravens and Cheifs might. Especially when you consider the schedules. Both Baltimore and Kansas City have a pair of the easiest schedules in the NFL this season, which will only help their post-season efforts.
