2023 NFL Future Odds Shift After Wild and Upsetting Week 1
Man, that was a crazy start to the NFL’s 104th season, eh?
Let’s begin with the terrible news about Aaron Rodgers. Whether you like him or not, agree with his beliefs or not, he’s a delight to watch and I think almost every NFL fan in this country was looking forward to seeing how he’d fare in his first year with the Jets.
Sadly, he lasted just four plays in his Big Apple debut against the Bills.
Hard knocks, indeed, for the Jets organization and their gung-ho Gang Green fans who were full-on stoked about this season. Just a real bummer all the way around.
Surely there will be talk of a new ‘Hard Knocks’ hex, just like the assumed Madden video game curse, which I wrote about here, but that really isn’t the case. (Although there was an eerie double-whammy last night as Bills QB Josh Allen, the Madden ‘24 cover star, played a terrible game in Buffalo’s loss in addition to Rodgers’ awful injury).
Fact: Since 2001, 18 teams have participated in the NFL/HBO preseason production of ‘Hard Knocks’ and eight of those teams have gone on to post winning records while seven made the playoffs.
Anyhow, what is also true is that after this week’s games – which included the Lions stunning the reigning champion Chiefs – the odds have changed, albeit only slightly but, wait, also dramatically as you can probably guess which team’s odds plummetted.
Here’s what I wrote before the season kicked off at Arrowhead last Thursday and I’m standing by it all:
“I’ve been on the record since April saying it’s going to be the Eagles who will snatch the Lombardi Trophy next February and deny the Bills, hexed yet again, of its first Super Bowl championship. Philly fans, you have reason to be optimistic.
The final Super Bowl 58 preseason odds before the season officially kicks off are below and courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook, which is one of our favorite sites, along with many other great gambling sites in the U.S., including FanDuel Sportsbook, BetMGM, and more. And, good news: All of these sites accept PayPal and/or Venmo.”
DraftKings Sportsbook’s 2024 Super Bowl LVIII Odds
San Francisco 49ers +650
Kansas City Chiefs +700
Philadelphia Eagles +700
Dallas Cowboys +900
Buffalo Bills +1100
Cincinnati Bengals +1400
Miami Dolphins +1500
Detroit Lions +1700
Cleveland Browns +1800
Baltimore Ravens +1800
Los Angeles Chargers +2000
Jacksonville Jaguars +2500
New Orleans Saints +3000
Atlanta Falcons +5000
Green Bay Packers +5000
Seattle Seahawks +6000
NY Jets +6000
Denver Broncos +6500
Minnesota Vikings +6500
New England Patriots +7000
New York Giants +7000
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +7500
Pittsburgh Steelers +7500
Washington Commanders +8000
Los Angeles Rams +8000
Carolina Panthers +10000
Tennessee Titans +10000
Chicago Bears +10000
Las Vegas Raiders +10000
Indianapolis Colts +15000
Houston Texans +30000
Arizona Cardinals +40000
The Niners went from +1000 to +650 after hammering the Steelers in Pittsburgh 30-7 on Sunday. They looked purdy good on both sides of the ball.
Meanwhile, the Cowboys moved from +1400 to +900, a major movement after they embarrassed the Giants 40-0. But the biggest riser by far was the Dolphins who went anywhere from +2500-+3000, depending on the sportsbook, to an astounding +1500. That was based on the eclectic play of Miami’s dynamic duo of Tua Tagovailoa and Tyreek Hill in a thrilling win over the Chargers.
Speaking of Tagovailoa, he’s now tied with Patrick Mahomes to win this year’s MVP award — after one game.
Now granted, he threw for 466 yards, three touchdowns and one interception in Miami’s win.
That’s silly.
In my life, I’ve never seen more bettors overreact in recent seasons.
But, then again, more gamblers, more money, more crazies, you know.
Most bettors’ motto in 2023: “Let’s freak out after Week 1!”
Tagovailoa was tied for ninth in MVP odds leading up to Week 1.
Here are the current MVP odds from FanDuel SportsBook.
AP NFL Regular Season MVP 2023-24
Tua Tagovailoa +600
Patrick Mahomes +600
Trevor Lawrence +900
Justin Herbert +900
Joe Burrow +900
Jalen Hurts +900
Josh Allen +1100
Dak Prescott +1400
Lamar Jackson +1400
Brock Purdy +2000
Derek Carr +2500
Jordan Love +3000
Deshaun Watson +3000
Jared Goff +3000
Matthew Stafford +4000
Russell Wilson +6000
Mac Jones +6000
Kirk Cousins +6000
Justin Fields +6000
Christian McCaffrey +7500
Geno Smith +7500
Justin Jefferson +7500
Tyreek Hill +7500
McCaffrey at +7500?
McCaffrey at +7500?!
Worth throwing a little gold on that.
In closing, this gets us to the sad demise of the Jets right out of the gate, despite that sensational, improbable victory over Buffalo, which could be the highlight of the season
If you’re banking on Zach Wilson to suddenly become a stud QB1 in his third season in the NFL, you’ll be sorry, which is why the Jets’ odds went anywhere from +900-+1600 to win the Super Bowl to +6000.
Back in April, when Rodgers signed with the Jets to the most fanfare since Tom Brady with the Bucs, I wasn’t buying the Jets zooming to the playoffs writing this.
I expect the Jets to sign a veteran QB here soon, possibly Nick Foles, Carson Wentz, Matt Ryan, Tom Brady (heh, fat chance) or, hey, ya know, Colin Kaepernick is still waiting for another opportunity. He’s only 35 and still works out every day.
Just sayin’, but yeah, never gonna happen.
Sorry, Aaron, and sorry to you Jets fans and Rodgers fans everywhere.
Never, ever, whether watching or participating in any sport, high-five or cheer or anything of the sort when a player goes down. Injuries can be brutal and if you’ve actually ever suffered one – in reality, not just your fantasy teams – on any level, you should know that.
Mean it. And let’s hope for less drama and trauma during the rest of football season.
Best of luck out there.
