If you want to ‘keep it simple’ and back one or more of the betting favorites to win Super Bowl 50 and you want to know which teams are most likely to cash in against their value-packed championship odds, then you’ve com to the right place!
In this expert betting breakdown, I’m going to highlight the top six favorites to win it all while offering up a brief prediction on just what will happen to each team this postseason.
With the start of the 2016 NFL playoffs set to get underway in a mere matter of hours, let’s get started.
The Pats will face the winner of the Pittsburgh versus Cincinnati wild card game, but they’re really not the same team we saw all season as they’ve been decimated with injuries to many of their key players. While New England’s bye will allow some of their players to heal, I’ve got some serious reservations about them winning consecutive Super Bowl titles. As a matter of fact, I’m going on record to say that if Pittsburgh beats Cincy in their playoff opener, I say they march into New England and beat the Pats in a thriller!
The Panthers lost all of one game during the regular season and have an elite defense, an MVP-caliber quarterback in Cam Newton and a great scheme of turning games into ‘ugly’ affairs they generally come out on top in.
The Panthers will beat whoever wins the wild card matchup between the Packers and Redskins, but for some reason, I just don’t see the Panthers getting past either Arizona or Seattle in the NFC championship game.
The Cardinals are absolutely explosive offensively and have a great defense as well. Still, following their bye, they’ll most likely host the Seattle Seahawks in a NFC West division showdown that looks like the best game of the postseason just waiting to happen.
While the Cards will be playing at home, I just can’t get the memory of their regular season-ending smackdown against the Seahawks out of my head. I’m going with the Seahawks to take down the Cards to meet Carolina in the NFC Championship.
The Broncos will host the winner of the Kansas City versus Houston wild card game and appear to have an excellent shot of reaching the AFC Championship at the very least. If they face Houston (they won’t) the Broncos will win easily to advance. If they have to face the Kansas City Chiefs, I say all bets are off that Denver wins, even at home. I’ve got a really bad feeling that the Broncos are going to underachieve against the Chiefs to get upset in the divisional round. However, if they get past the Chiefs, I think Denver’s formidable defense will somehow allow them to beat either Pittsburgh or New England in the AFC title tilt, as strange as that may sound.
The Seahawks didn’t have the best record in the NFC, nor did they even win their own division as Arizona bagged the NFC West division crown. No matter, the Seahawks are playing their best football of the season right now and look like a virtual lock to beat Minnesota in their wild card opener. As I stated previously, after watching Russell Wilson and company beat the hell out of the Cardinals in their 36-6 regular season-ending blowout win. I like the Seahawks to somehow represent the NFC in Super Bowl 50, where they’ll beat either Kansas City or Pittsburgh.
I like the Steelers to get past the Bengals in their wild card opener to face New England in their second straight postseason road game. After outscoring the Patriots to reach the AFC Championship, I say the Steelers get either upset by Kansas City or taken down by Denver, with the Chiefs being my dark horse pick to represent the AFC in Super Bowl 50!
In honor of Super Bowl 50, @USATODAYsports listed 50 things to look forward to during the wild-card weekend. https://t.co/lfrw1R9TfE
— USA TODAY (@USATODAY) January 8, 2016
New England Patriots 9-2
Carolina Panthers 9-2
Arizona Cardinals 9-2
Denver Broncos 5-1
Seattle Seahawks 5-1
Pittsburgh Steelers 8-1
