NFL Playoff Odds: Using Odds to Predict the 2026-27 NFL Playoff Picture

The Rams and Bills are favorites to win their respective conferences in the 2026-27 NFL season. | Gary A. Vasquez-Imagn Images

The NFL schedule has been released, so it's time to look ahead to the upcoming season and predict who's going to be competing in the postseason.

Betting odds are available for the 2026 NFL campaign, and the odds are good for more than just betting. They also give us a great idea of how the season will play out, as the betting market has a much more accurate outlook than any column or personal opinion piece you'll read.

In this article, I'm going to use the betting odds to predict how this year's playoffs will go. Let's dive into it.

Odds via FanDuel Sportsbook

2026 NFL Playoff Teams Based on Odds

NFC Playoff Picture Prediction

1. Los Angeles Rams
2. Detroit Lions
3. Philadelphia Eagles
4. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
5. Seattle Seahawks
6. San Francisco 49ers
7. Green Bay Packers

FanDuel has odds posted for which team will finish with the No. 1 seed, and the Rams are the NFC favorites at +370. Following that, I listed the other three divisional favorites as the next three seeds in the conference. I ordered the three divisional favorites by their odds to make the playoffs. The Lions have the best odds amongst them at -190, followed by the Eagles at -152, and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers at +136.

The Seahawks have the second-best odds to make the NFC Playoffs, but because the Rams are favored to win the NFC West, the defending Super Bowl champions will have to slot in as the top wild-card seed. Following the Seahawks, I put in the two teams with the next best odds to make the playoffs, which are the 49ers (-154) and Packers (-130).

If these seven teams make up the NFC Playoff picture, we'll see two differences from a year ago. The Buccaneers will be in over the Panthers, and the Lions will return to the playoffs, while the Bears will be watching the postseason from home, a year after being the No. 2 seed.

The Cowboys (-102), Bears (+108), and Vikings (+166) are the three teams with the next best odds to make the NFC Playoffs.

AFC Playoff Picture Prediction

1. Baltimore Ravens
2. Buffalo Bills
3. Kansas City Chiefs
4. Houston Texans
5. New England Patriots
6. Cincinnati Bengals
7. Los Angeles Chargers

Despite missing the playoffs last year, the Ravens are the favorites to claim the No. 1 seed in the AFC. They also have the best odds to make the playoffs at -350. The Buffalo Bills are close behind them at -340. The Chiefs and the Texans have the next-best odds amongst divisional favorites.

Much like the Seahawks, the Patriots have short odds to make the playoffs at -198, but because the Bills are the AFC East favorites, they have to slot in as the No. 1 wild card team. The Cincinnati Bengals are expected to return to the playoffs for the first time in four seasons. Finally, the Los Angeles Chargers are expected to make the postseason again at -166.

According to the odds, we could see significant turnover in the AFC Playoffs. Only four of the seven teams are favored to return to the playoffs.

Notable teams on the outside looking in are the Denver Broncos (-144), Jacksonville Jaguars (-112), and Pittsburgh Steelers (+180).

Super Bowl 61 Prediction

Rams Defeat Bills

The Rams are the clear favorites to win Super Bowl 61. They're +390 favorites to win the NFC and +700 favorites to win the Super Bowl.

Who they'll face is a bit trickier. At both FanDuel and DraftKings, the Bills and Ravens are +500 co-favorites to win the AFC Championship and have the same +1000 odds to win the Super Bowl. I had to look at a third sportsbook to find a tiebreaker. BetMGM has both teams with the same Super Bowl odds at +1000, but they have given the Bills the nod atop the AFC Championship odds at +450 compared to the Ravens at +500.

That's enough for me to give the Bills the edge, but whoever it is that comes out of the AFC, the betting market has the Rams taking home the hardware at Super Bowl 61 in San Francisco.

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