Betting Roundtable: Which Team Would You Bet to Win the NFC?
In the eyes of SI Sportsbook—and most of the viewing public—the NFC is the superior conference.
The top-seeded Packers have the best odds to win the Super Bowl. Two of the top three and three of the top five teams with the best odds to win it all are also NFC teams. So, predicting which team will come out of the supposed better conference is essential to picking the Super Bowl, which our writers did early in the week.
Check Wild-Card Weekend Lines at SI Sportsbook
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Here are the NFC futures odds for the remaining teams at SI Sportsbook.
Packers +160
Buccaneers +300
Rams +450
Cowboys +600
Cardinals +1100
49ers +1200
Eagles +2500
So, will No. 1 Green Bay win the NFC? Will Tampa Bay repeat? Or will a dark horse emerge from a loaded field?
We asked our experts: Which team would you bet to win the NFC?
Here are their answers:
SI Betting and Fantasy’s Bill Enright:
News flash…it’s cold at Lambeau Field in January. Not your average cold. Bitter cold. The type of cold that bites your bones like a great white in a feeding frenzy. Not only do the Packers have the pleasure of home field throughout the playoffs, they also have the distinct advantage of facing an opponent that is accustomed to warm weather. Dallas, Los Angeles, San Francisco, Tampa Bay, Arizona, heck even Philadelphia has an average temp of 30-45 degrees from December to February. But Bill, we’re talking about football not the weather pattern in Green Bay? Fair…As for what the Packers do on the field…they are and have been on an absolute tear all season. We’ve already watched them beat three of their potential playoff opponents in the regular season (Rams, Cardinals, 49ers). Call it chalk. Call it safe. But at the end of the day plus-money is plus money.
BET: Packers +160
SI Betting’s Matt Ehalt:
This is my third time writing a response for this question after deleting the other two. I originally picked the 49ers, but recognize there's no chance Jimmy G wins three straight. I then had the Packers, but Aaron Rodgers has a spotty playoff record and they've gotten lucky in last-minute situations this year. I want to fade the Buccaneers, but you're giving me twice as much value on Tom Brady than the No. 1 seed. How do I pass on this? Sure, losing Chris Godwin and, yes, Antonio Brown, is tough. But this is the G.O.A.T and he always finds a way. Give me the double payout compared to Green Bay's small reward.
BET: Buccaneers +300
SI Betting and Fantasy’s Jen Piacenti:
Since I picked them for the Super Bowl, I have to double down with the Cowboys. I love the value at +600, seeing as how they have the highest -coring offense (31.5 points per game) while also leading the league in takeaways (34). The NFC is the tougher conference, for sure, so as I see it I'd rather take the bigger payday since I truly believe anything could happen in this conference. The Rams turn over the ball too much, Tom Brady is missing weapons and Arron Rodgers has been known to disappoint in the postseason. If the Cowboys can get their offense and defense clicking at the same time, they are a team that will be tough to beat.
BET: Cowboys +600
SI Betting and Fantasy’s Kyle Wood:
Green Bay has lost one game with Aaron Rodgers starting—and finishing—the game at quarterback since Week 1. The opening week of the season saw the Packers lose, 38-3, to the Saints (and then rattle off seven straight wins) and they fell to the Vikings, 34-31, in Minnesota IN Week 11. That’s it. Green Bay’s other losses were against the Chiefs with Jordan Love behind center, which was still only a six-point loss, and against the Lions in Week 18 with the No. 1 seed locked up and Rodgers exiting early. The Packers have the bye, the likely MVP, home-field advantage in frigid Wisconsin and wins over the 49ers, Cardinals and Rams working in their favor. Tampa Bay was the biggest threat to Green Bay, but I’m not sure the Bucs, with their depleted receiving corps, can best the Packers on the road.
BET: Packers +160
SI Fantasy’s Craig Ellenport:
I hate to go chalk, but let’s face it: The Packers are going to the Super Bowl. Pencils down. End of discussion. Green Bay has won 13 games in each of its last three seasons and its been to back-to-back conference title games. I get that taking them at +160 to win the NFC is not a great payoff, but who else in the NFC do you trust? The Cowboys are 3-4 this season against 2021 playoff teams (with two of those wins against the Eagles). The Rams are 2-5 vs. playoff teams. The Packers? 5-1. Tampa Bay is the only real threat to Green Bay, but Tom Brady would have to carry his team to two big wins just to earn a trip to Lambeau in late January. Green Bay is the best team in the conference and they need to win two home games to get to Super Bowl LVI. Done.
Bet: Packers +160
MMQB'S Conor Orr:
The Packers are an obvious pick and my Super Bowl selection. But if I'm a gambling man that wants to make some money, I'm throwing coin on the 49ers, who have an incredible amount of upside for a team that should have finished the regular season with a better record. San Francisco's running game can upend even the best laid plans defensively from an opponent. If they get hot in the postseason, no one is thick enough through the middle of their defense to stop them
BET: 49ers +1200
SI Betting & Fantasy's Frank Taddeo:
As much as I believe the Packers are the team most likely to win the NFC there is simply no value at odds of +160 in a postseason that is truly wide open. I picked the Cowboys to win Super Bowl LVI on pure double-digit value alone so I can't look back now. Give me Dak and the 'Boys at healthy odds of +600 to finally get Jerry Jones back to the Big Game for the first time since Super Bowl XXX in 1996. The defense will have to play at a dominant level but its Dallas' CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper who will have to return to elite production if Dallas is to have any chance to pull this off. They have the talent now they have to perform.
BET: Cowboys +600
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