NFL Betting: Patriots Odds of Making Playoffs?
What's in store for the New England Patriots this season?
A record of 9-8 or 8-9. Third-place finish in the AFC East. No 1,000-yard rusher or receiver. No quarterback to throw for more than 4,000 yards. And, to top it all of, no playoff berth.
Those underwhelming - dare we say, mediocre? - projections come courtesy of the wise guys that make a living, er fortune, out of such things: Las Vegas oddsmakers.
As the Pats prepare for Sunday's season opener against the Dolphins in Miami, their financial numbers are trending in the wrong direction.
In the short run, the experts who favored the Dolphins by 2.5 points after the NFL Draft in April have bumped that number to more than a field goal - currently at 3.5 points. The Patriots, for what it's worth, haven't been underdogs in a season opener since 2016.
New England's long game doesn't look much more appetizing for those Bostonians look to make a buck on their favorite team.
The Patriots' projected total for wins is 8.5, meaning they're picked to be essentially a .500 team. According to the odds, they will finish behind the Dolphins in the AFC East and have only the 11th-best chance (out of 16 teams) to win the AFC.
They are given only a 35-percent chance of making the playoffs, and are 45-1 longshots to win Super Bowl LVII February 12 in Glendale, Arizona. Even more damning, the Super Bowl favorites are the division rival Buffalo Bills at 5-1.
Individually it's just as bleak.
Quarterback Mac Jones has only the 16th-best odds of leading the league in passing yards. Justin Herbert of the Los Angeles Chargers is the favorite at 6-1. Jones' expected middle-of-the-pack passing stats: 3,950 yards with 23 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
The Patriots do not have a running back listed among the 30 favorites to league the league in rushing, with Damien Harris projected for only 825 yards and eight touchdowns. At receiver, the oddsmakers see Jakobi Meyers as Jones' No. 1 target with 66 catches for 750 yards and three touchdowns.
Even legendary coach Bill Belichick is taking it on the betting chin. He is a 20-1 longshot to win Coach of the Year, behind a handful of candidates including former assistant Josh McDaniels at 17-1 with the Las Vegas Raiders.
The good news: Bulletin-board material for Belichick is readily available.
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