The Sprint to the NFL Finish Line for Sports Bettors
NFL training camps opened July 18th. Now, five months later, just two weeks left in the season.
Much has been decided, as in four division champs and eight playoff participants. However, four other division titles remain unclaimed, as do six postseason berths (three in each conference).
AFC’s Top Seed
Assuming the Chiefs beat the ship-sunk Broncos this week (they’ve done that 14 straight times), and the Raiders in Week 18 (they’ve done that on the road six of the last seven times), the Bills- Bengals game Monday night in Cincinnati will decide if the Chiefs or Bills have home-field throughout the AFC playoffs.
One caveat, however, is that if the Chiefs lose one of their remaining two games, and the Bengals win out, then it would be Cincinnati getting the top seed in the conference. Buffalo has the easiest scenario to ensure its perch. Win both weeks, and the first-round bye goes with it.
Buffalo (+375) remains the favorite to win the title, with Kansas City (+450) and Cincy (+750) each getting its fair share of support, according to Super Bowl odds.
NFC’s Top Seed
Top seed in the NFC is probably going to belong to the Eagles, once the dust clears. A lone win by Philadelphia clinches the honor (or one loss by the Vikings and one by the 49ers). The only way the Eagles can’t get the No. 1 seed is if they end the season on a three-game losing streak. Even then, they still might get it if the other contending teams fail to win all of their games.
Philly is the 8½-5 (+170) favorite to win the NFC, as per NFL conference odds.
AFC South Champion
There’s panic in Music City. The Tennessee Titans are in a full division meltdown now. What was once an insurmountable lead in the AFC South has been surmounted, by the Jacksonville Jaguars. All Jacksonville has to do is beat the Titans at home in Week 18 to secure its first division title since 2017.
By that same scenario, of course, Tennessee still has a shot. Beat the Jags in Week 18, they will win the AFC South. They will probably have to do it with Malik Willis at quarterback against a red-hot Trevor Lawrence. Tennessee is hosting Dallas this week in a game with minimal relevance, at least as it pertains to the Titans.
AFC North Champion
It’s simple math with Cincinnati. Win in Week 18 at home against Baltimore and they cannot lose the division. It’s somewhat more complex with the Ravens. A loss in Week 17 to the Steelers, and the Bengals win (over Buffalo) in Week 17, they lose the division regardless of what happens in the final game.
In short, the Bengals can afford to lose now, Baltimore doesn’t have that luxury. If Baltimore wants to play for the division title on the season’s final Sunday, they need to take care of business against the Steelers.
NFC South Champion
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have the inside track to win this pathetic division. If they beat the Panthers at home this Sunday, the division is theirs. They will own all of the tiebreakers, and they will host a playoff game, as awful as that sounds.
If the Panthers win, they will be tied with the Buccaneers, and they’ll own the tiebreaker. However, they could lose the division in Week 18, if defeated by the Saints. In that scenario, the Bucs could win the division, or the Saints might, depending on what transpires in Week 17.
The messiest division in football all season long, so it naturally has the hardest-to-figure, end-of- season scenarios. Perhaps the sixth team in NFL history into the playoffs with a losing record.
NFC East Champion
If the Eagles win one of their two games, or the Cowboys lose one of theirs, the division is Philly’s. However, if the Eagles lose to the Saints this week, then next week to the Giants (both at home), and the Cowboys win both weeks, Dallas is the division champs.
In that scenario, they will be tied, and will have split the season series. However, the Eagles would fall to 3-3 in the division, while the Cowboys would be 5-1. That tiebreaker gives Dallas a repeat East title (first time since 1996).
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
