Tag: Super Bowl LIX

Rams’ midseason odds to make playoffs, win Super Bowl and other awards

At the midway point in the season, here are the Rams’ latest odds to win the Super Bowl, make the playoffs and more

It looked like the Los Angeles Rams were in for another season similar to 2022 after they started 1-4 with a litany of injuries. However, they’ve turned things around in a hurry and look like a team that could make some noise in the second half of the season.

Through nine weeks, they’re 4-4 and just a half-game back of the division-leading Cardinals in the NFC West. Matthew Stafford is playing well, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua are back and the defense is meshing under Chris Shula after some growing pains.

At the midway point, we’re looking at the Rams’ latest odds to win the Super Bowl, reach the playoffs and updates on a few AP awards. All odds courtesy of BetMGM.

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Win Super Bowl LIX: +5000

The Rams’ Super Bowl odds have shortened considerably in the last month. After five games, they were +15000 to win it all following their 1-4 start, but they’re now +5000 – 15th-best in the NFL, which is close to where they started the year.

Win NFC title game: +2500

The Rams’ odds to reach the Super Bowl have also improved significantly. They now have the eighth-best odds to represent the NFC in the big game.

Make the playoffs: Yes (+225) | No (-275)

Before the season began, the Rams were -115 to make the playoffs. At 4-4 through nine weeks, their odds are now longer at +225. It’s certainly not impossible, but they still have a lot of work to do in order to complete this turnaround.

After Week 5, they were +750 to make the playoffs.

Over/under win total: Over 8.5 (+100) | Under 8.5 (-120)

Before the season began, the Rams’ over/under win total was set at 8.5. After eight games, that number remains the same, though the line is slightly juiced to the under.

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Win NFC West: +375

The Rams’ odds to win the division are actually much better than they are to be a wild-card team (+1000). That’s because the NFC West is wide open, with he 5-4 Cardinals currently leading. The Rams’ path to the playoffs will likely have to come as a division champ.

Matthew Stafford to win MVP: +8000

Stafford has played well this season but his numbers aren’t in line with being an MVP. He’s still a long shot to win the award at +8000, significantly longer than the co-favorites of Josh Allen and Lamar Jackson at +300.

Jared Verse to win Defensive Rookie of the Year: -125

Verse was tied for the third-best odds to win Defensive Rookie of the Year before the year started, coming in at +1000. Eight games into his career, he’s now the odds-on favorite at -125. The next-closest player is Laiatu Latu at +700.

Braden Fiske to win Defensive Rookie of the Year: +2500

Fiske is coming off his best performance of the season where he had two sacks against the Seahawks, so he’s making a charge up the board for Defensive Rookie of the Year. However, unless Verse completely cools off, it’s highly unlikely Fiske will overtake his teammate.

Sean McVay to win Coach of the Year: +3000

McVay is a phenomenal coach and he’s getting a lot out of a young team with a ton to prove and more injuries than just about anyone in the NFL. Dan Quinn is starting to pull away as the favorite to win this award, though, with +180 odds as of now. The Rams will need to go on a serious run in the second half for McVay to have any chance.

Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl pick should make Detroit fans very happy

Sports Illustrated’s Super Bowl pick should make Detroit fans very happy

The Detroit Lions have come a long way. Before Dan Campbell became head coach, the Lions had some glimmer of hope but not always a huge wave of expectations. Then, entering the 2023 season, Campbell’s Lions looked to have the talent to really start making some noise in the NFC. They won their first division title since winning the old NFC Central in 1993 and reached the NFC Championship Game before falling short of the Super Bowl.

Now, entering 2024, expectations are sky high in the Motor City. Many pundits see the Lions as the top threat to the San Francisco 49ers in the conference. And in the case of Sports Illustrated, they won’t just overtake the 49ers, they’re going to go all the way.

The long-standing magazine released their 2024 football preview and the Lions are front and center as the cover story, with quarterback Jared Goff, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and offensive tackle Penei Sewell on the cover photo.

SI’s Conor Orr and Greg Bishop also made their picks for Super Bowl LIX in New Orleans and believe Campbell and company bring the Lombardi Trophy to Detroit for the first time in franchise history. It would mark Detroit’s first NFL championship since 1957.

“I think you just get a feel for some of these teams,” Orr said in an interview with the Detroit Free Press. “You know, how complete they look, how well coached they are, but the Lions just seem to have every kind of biomarker of a successful team. I mean, they look like the most complete team in football right now.”

Hope has never been higher for the Lions than it will be for the 2024 season. Time will tell if the Lions can pull off what was once thought of as impossible.

ESPN FPI gives Jets 13th-best odds to win Super Bowl LIX

ESPN FPI gives Jets 13th-best odds to win Super Bowl LIX

ESPN recently updated their Football Power Index and their projections for the 2024 NFL season. The top teams are the usual suspects while the Jets check in just inside the top half in terms of Super Bowl probability.

ESPN’s FPI currently gives the Jets a 1.9 percent chance of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy in New Orleans in February. That is 13th-best in the league. The Jets are projected for 9.2 wins based on the model and just a 52.9 percent chance of making the playoffs, including a 24.6 percent chance to win the AFC East, behind the Buffalo Bills (43.6%) and Miami Dolphins (31.4%).

The Jets’ numbers likely take into account their competition in the division, though the Jets do have the easiest schedule among the three teams. The Jets’ three non-common opponents are the Broncos, Steelers and Vikings while the Bills will see the Chiefs, Ravens and Lions. Miami faces the Raiders, Browns and Packers.

Two teams that also missed the playoffs in 2023 having better Super Bowl odds than the Jets. The Cincinnati Bengals have the 8th-best chance at 5.4 percent while the Atlanta Falcons are just ahead of the Jets in the rankings at 12th, having a 2.9 percent chance.

New York checks in 12th on the base FPI rankings, 7th in the AFC.

Sauce Gardner says Jets have players and coaches to win a Super Bowl

Sauce Gardner says Jets have players and coaches to win a Super Bowl

Expectations are high once again in Florham Park, New Jersey as the Jets began OTAs this week. The team is looking to reach their first postseason since the 2010 season and make some noise once they reach the postseason. The ultimate goal is to be in New Orleans in February for Super Bowl LIX. One player in particular believes that goal is very attainable.

Jets cornerback Sauce Gardner says the team has the pieces in place to make a run and win a championship, saying his expectations are the same as last year. “I feel like we can win a championship,” Gardner said Tuesday. “We have the guys.”

Gardner noted that things can change in the snap of a finger (as they did in Week 1 last season) and that the Jets have to “keep the main thing the main thing.”

On paper, the Jets have a roster that can contend. ESPN’s Mike Clay made his case for the Jets recently. The Jets are currently +2500 on BetMGM to win the Super Bowl, tied for the 11th-best odds with the Miami Dolphins. They are +1400 to win the AFC, also tied with the Dolphins, tied for 6th in the conference.

ESPN analyst makes bold claim for 2024 Jets season

ESPN analyst makes bold claim for 2024 Jets season

The New York Jets are winning the Super Bowl this season.

That’s the early prediction from Mike Clay of ESPN, who spelled out his thoughts in a recent article.

An elite defense, a much improved offense and even a perceived easier strength of schedule are some of the reasons Clay believes the Jets have a legitimate chance to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in February in New Orleans.

Clay notes that the Jets have been a top-five team in defensive EPA (expected points added) each of the last two seasons after finishing 31st in head coach Robert Saleh’s first season in 2021. That unit now also includes Haason Reddick and what the Jets hope is a sophomore leap from 2023 first-round pick Will McDonald IV.

On offense, you have a much-healthier Breece Hall, a stud wide receiver in Garrett Wilson and, of course, the return of Aaron Rodgers. Not to mention the additions of Mike Williams and rookie Malachi Corley plus, as Clay puts it, an underrated tight end in Tyler Conklin.

As far as the schedule goes, Clay’s projections have the Jets with the ninth-easiest schedule in the league and, in theory, easier than the Bills and Dolphins with having a third-place schedule.

The Jets’ three non-common opponents are the Steelers, Vikings and Broncos. The Bills have the Chiefs, Ravens and Lions and the Dolphins face the Raiders, Browns and Packers.

As for the rest of the conference and the league, Clay notes the loss of Chiefs’ cornerback L’Jarius Sneed as a major departure as well as the offense hitting some roadblocks during the season. If the Jets get past the Chiefs, it could be the 49ers standing in the Jets’ way of the Lombardi and they have some injury questions of their own, most notably linebacker Dre Greenlaw (Achilles) and safety Talanoa Hufanga (ACL).

The bottom line for Clay is that this roster is ready to compete and the Jets truly have a legitimate chance to win Super Bowl LIX. Imagine the party Jets fans would have on Bourbon Street if New York wins it all.

AI predicts Panthers will defeat Chiefs in Super Bowl LIX

So, how intelligent is artificial intelligence . . . ?

The 2024 Carolina Panthers are about to become the most improbable Super Bowl champion of all-time, at least according to Grok. Yes, Grok.

Grok is an artificial intelligence chatbot developed by x.AI Corp., a startup company of Twitter/X owner Elon Musk. Currently under beta testing, the technology is designed to “answer almost anything” with “a bit of wit” and “a rebellious streak.”

Um, sure.

Anyway, the folks over at The 33rd Team just asked Grok to forecast the result of Super Bowl LIX—which will be held at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, La. on Feb. 9, 2025. And, uh, its answer was quite the doozy . . .

Well, that’s one heck of a prediction.

For starters, the Panthers just turned in the worst record in the entire league this past season. Their two-win campaign featured an in-season firing at the head-coaching position, a particularly rough first year for No. 1 overall pick Bryce Young and perhaps the most feeble offense in franchise history.

So not only would they have to rise from those depths to prove Grok correct, but they’d also have to defeat the Kansas City Chiefs—who have collected three of the last five Lombardi Trophies—to do so.

Oh, and they’d have to do all of that under a first-year head coach.

Yeah, maybe it’s best Grok remains under beta testing.

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ESPN NFL expert predicts Chargers to be in Super Bowl LIX

The Chargers haven’t appeared in the Super Bowl since 1995.

ESPN’s Mike Tannenbaum, an NFL front office insider, picked the Chargers to make Super Bowl LIX. Although Tannenbaum has the Bolts losing to the Lions, a Super Bowl appearance would be a huge feat, considering Los Angeles didn’t even make the playoffs this past season. 

The Lions will benefit from both coordinators returning to Detroit after Ben Johnson and Aaron Glenn each attracted head-coaching interest, and this time I expect the team to win the NFC Championship Game and win the Super Bowl. I see them holding off QB Justin Herbert, Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers in a close game.

Nevertheless, this is a not-so-far-fetched pick by Tannenbaum for a few reasons. Under head coach Jim Harbaugh, the franchise will continue to undergo several necessary transformations to become a winning team. Harbaugh is known for working his magic on struggling programs and guiding them to championships in short amounts of time. So that’s the first reason for defending Tannenbaum’s pick on the Chargers making next year’s Super Bowl. 

Any person who understands football knows quarterback Justin Herbert is talented. He is the face of the franchise, and quite frankly, he has never been the problem. Unfortunately, the talent around him, or lack thereof, is. 

The Bolts will need to make certain roster improvements at cornerback, offensive line and running back if they want to earn their trip to the Super Bowl. Los Angeles has the fifth overall pick in the draft, which could help bolster their roster to a championship caliber. As free agency approaches, the front office will need to make some smart decisions on which players to keep and which to be willing to move. 

The AFC needs a new top dog and it might be the Chargers’ time to fill that role. 

Justin Herbert, Los Angeles Chargers enter 2025 season with favorable odds to win Super Bowl LIX

Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have favorable odds to win Super Bowl LIX in the 2024-25 season under Jim Harbaugh.

The 2023-24 football season officially came to an end on Sunday night in dramatic fashion, with Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs defeating the San Francisco 49ers in overtime to win Super Bowl LVIII.

Oregon Ducks head coach Dan Lanning celebrated while his childhood team won back-to-back championships. Deommodore Lenoir and Arik Armstead — a pair of Pro Ducks on the 49ers — had to swallow the loss.

As we look ahead to the 2025 season, it’s becoming clear that more Pro Ducks are likely going to be in a pretty good spot to contend for Super Bowl LIX. According to FanDuel SportsBook, Justin Herbert and the Los Angeles Chargers have favorable odds to win the championship, listed at +3000.

The Chargers have the 12th-best odds in the nation, tied with the Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets, and Jacksonville Jaguars.

With former Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh now heading up the ship in Los Angeles, there is an expectation that new life is going to be breathed into the Chargers, and there is hope among Oregon fans that Justin Herbert’s career is going to see a brighter future.

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Locations for next three Super Bowls officially revealed

We now know the host locations for each of the next three Super Bowls.

The Kansas City Chiefs have been to three of the past four Super Bowls, winning the NFL’s most iconic game twice in that span.

The league already had announced the host cities and stadiums for the next two Super Bowls, but they extended that to a third on Monday. It’s very possible that the Chiefs could be visiting one, two, or all of these cities should things go their way in each of the next three seasons.

Here’s a quick look at the locations and dates for Super Bowl LVIII, Super Bowl LIX and Super Bowl LX: