3 Teams to Avoid in NFL Playoff Odds Ahead of Week 13
The NFL season is barreling toward the playoffs and while some teams have more or less clinched a spot in the postseason, there are others whose fate is still to be determined.
We've looked at teams you should consider when looking at betting on playoff odds, now we take a look at teams you should avoid.
Houston Texans (6-5 -- No. 8 in AFC)
The Texans and C.J. Stroud are one of the feel-good stories in the NFL this season, shocking everyone on their way to an above .500 record and sitting just one spot out of the playoffs after 11 games.
At -108 odds to make the playoffs, the Texans have the tie break on the Denver Broncos, but the surging Broncos come into NRG Stadium Sunday and with a win could reorder the playoff picture in the AFC.
For all the good news out of Houston, we should remember this is a team that lost to the Carolina Panthers and plays coin-flip games seemingly every week, with its last five being decided by five points or less. A couple of breaks the other way and this team is buried in the AFC.
In other words, a lot has gone right just to get to 6-5 and it feels like it could come down to a week 18 trip to Indianapolis, another team the Texans have fallen to this season.
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Indianapolis Colts (6-5 -- No. 7 in AFC)
Yes, I'm arguing both sides of this coin, but we're looking for value and the Colts don't offer much at +118 with a 6-5 record.
In the Colts favor, they have the tie break over Denver based on the best win percentage in conference games and the head-to-head over Houston.
Lurking right behind the Colts and Texans are the red-hot Denver Broncos, who play in Houston Sunday, who have a friendly schedule to finish the season and the snake-bitten 6-6 Buffalo Bills with their +101 scoring margin.
There's certainly a scenario where Denver and Buffalo rise and leave Houston and Indianapolis both on the outside of the playoffs looking in and I'd take Josh Allen and Russell Wilson over Gardner Minshew every single time.
Seattle Seahawks (6-6 -- No. 7 in NFC)
This team was so close to not being on this list, if it just could have pulled the game out in Dallas Thursday night.
The +142 number sounds inviting with five games to go, but he reality is that the Seattle Seahawks have lost three straight and have the San Francisco 49ers and Philadelphia Eagles up next. Brutal.
Seattle is likely to be 6-8 on a 5-game losing streak entering the final three games of the season and while the final three on the schedule are manageable (Tennessee Titans, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals), two are on the road.
The Minnesota Vikings also hold the tie break on the Seahawks and that's not likely to get better given the schedule over the next couple of weeks, making Seattle's path that much tougher.
Game odds refresh periodically and are subject to change.