Which Teams Should You Buy and Sell in Latest Super Bowl Odds

We are nine weeks into the NFL season, and this is a perfect time to take stock of the first half of the year and look ahead to which teams are worthy of our bets down the stretch. Specifically, which teams are worth our attention when betting on the winner of the Super Bowl. Some teams are ranked above where they should be while others aren’t getting the attention they deserve. 

With that in mind, we’re going to take a look at two teams in contention for the title whose odds don’t exactly line up. Whether or not these teams are pretenders or contenders and if we’re buying or selling them at the current line. 

All NFL futures odds are courtesy of WynnBET Sportsbook. 

Las Vegas Raiders +4000 - Buy

The Raiders currently have what I would consider longshot odds to win the Super Bowl at 40-1 heading into a Week 9 meeting with the Giants. I don’t know what it is exactly about the Raiders, but oddsmakers have a tendency to “diss” them when it comes to setting odds. 

The Raiders, coming off a bye, are 5-2 and currently lead the AFC West over the Los Angeles Chargers and Kansas City Chiefs. This is where things get a bit questionable for me. The Chargers are currently 20-1 and the Chiefs are 16-1 to win it all. Well ahead of the Raiders in the current odds. I can understand that the Chargers are ahead of the Raiders after beating them earlier in the season, but this gap is too wide. 

The Chiefs, on the other hand, are a different story. I get that this team has been on fire the last couple of season and are led by one of the best quarterbacks in the league. But, they are not the same team that went to back-to-back Super Bowls over the last two seasons. They are 4-4 after a tight game against a bad New York Giants team last night and have one of the worst defenses in the entire league. Apparently, oddsmakers don’t subscribe to the adage that offense wins games but defense wins championships. 

I’m not suggesting that the Raiders should be among the top teams in the league despite leading their division. But, they certainly deserve a better number than they are currently getting. At +4000 odds, they are worth a flier to go all the way. 

Arizona Cardinals +1000 - Sell

Fading the Cardinals to win the Super Bowl hurts a little bit because I was high on them to start the season. And, what a start to the season they have had.

The Cards started the season 7-0 and were the last remaining unbeaten team up until last week. Last week, however, the teams season went off the rails a little bit with a 24-21 loss to the Packers at home. The loss itself isn’t the major issue here, but what the Cardinals lost during that game. 

Quarterback Kyler Murray not only lost all of his momentum with an awful performance but, also injured his ankle in the loss.

The team has not officially ruled him out of the Cardinals Week 9 game against the 49ers, but it appears the star QB stands to miss at least one game. Experts have said that this is a 1-3 week injury but we all know ankles injuries can linger. And, even if Murray does suit up for Week 9, he won’t be at 100 percent and runs the risk of re-injuring his ankle.

While this is not definite as of yet, sports betting is all about speculation.

If Murray misses the next three games due to this injury, in a worst-case scenario, the Cardinals will be forced to turn to Colt McCoy to beat the 49ers, Panthers, and Seahawks.

While none of these teams are giant killers, neither is Colt McCoy.

The Cardinals rely on the offense that Murray produces too much to feel good about McCoy starting. This issue will be exacerbated by the fact that the Cardinals are not great at stopping the run. Their run defense has been suspect all season but things went south quick against the Packers who ran for 151 yards last week.

The Cardinals give up 120.1 yards per game on the ground and rank dead last with 4.88 yards per carry surrendered. It is hard to imagine a world where McCoy can score enough to make up for this rushing defense.