2019 Super Bowl: Best bets are in NFC South and AFC West

The favorites may not even make s and their odds are terrible. Your best bets for the 2019 Super Bowl call the NFC South and AFC West home. We’re split on who to pick, but every team is getting 25-1 or greater odds!

Deducing what is the most likely pair to represent the NFL in the 2019 Super Bowl is a different task than determining who are the best bets to make the big game. When breaking down the conferences individually, we tried to split the difference by naming the best team who doubled as a good bet. The favorites, as you would expect, are not good wagers!

Which teams are the best bets for the 2019 Super Bowl? They must have a legitimate path to glory, while providing a major payout for you and your wager.

Two brothers from New York, Dan Salem and Todd Salem, debate the 2019 Super Bowl in today’s NFL Sports Debate.

Todd Salem:

Splitting the difference between great teams and great bets left me with a potential 2019 Super Bowl of Minnesota versus Houston. You followed suit with a Minnesota pick, expecting a hangover to submarine the Philadelphia Eagles. In the AFC, though, you went with the Jacksonville Jaguars to build on their success from 2017. It’s funny to think back on the AFC South and how truly terrible it was for so many years. Now we have two Super Bowl contenders in the same division.

If picking the best Super Bowl bet to make, do you stick with the Vikings and Jaguars? It’s actually not a bad matchup considering the odds via CBS Sports. Minnesota is tied for third in the NFC, while both Jacksonville and Houston are tied for third in the AFC. As we discussed in the conference breakdowns, the NFC feels much better up top, and that is represented in the Vegas odds. By the most basic premise – Super Bowl odds – five of the top seven teams in the sport reside in the NFC.

Looking at longer odds for a title, I’m drawn to one specific matchup: the Carolina Panthers versus the Denver Broncos. The teams are 40/1 and 50/1 long shots respectively to win a ring, but I can see clear paths to their immediate success.

Carolina has numerous difference-makers on both sides of the ball. A healthy Greg Olsen will be paramount to offensive success, but a shape-shifting attack around Christian McCaffrey, C.J. Anderson, and Curtis Samuel feels incredibly interesting. Norv Turner, the team’s new offensive coordinator, is one of the best coordinators of his generation. He should be up to the task of maximizing Cam Newton and company.

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On defense, potential success is even more obvious. The unit finished 7th in the NFL in DVOA despite having a quiet year. With another season of experience for the secondary and veteran punishers in the front seven, another top-10 finish seems likely.

Denver is in the same boat defensively. The Broncos expect to be a top-10 unit each and every season, even with some turnover this offseason. Offense is where Denver’s ceiling is questioned, but what could be more impactful than a quarterback change? They’ve gone from a headless tribe to one led by a breakout quarterback. The three-headed beast of Trevor Siemian, Brock Osweiler, and Paxton Lynch that completed 58 percent of its passes and threw more picks than touchdowns has been replaced by Case Keenum.

Keenum thrived with two elite receivers in Pat Shurmur’s offense. Among wide receivers on Minnesota last year, the top two options garnered 238 combined targets. The next-highest receiver saw just 35. In Denver, Keenum finds a similar depth chart that should play to everyone’s strengths. A lot hinges on young players at tight end, running back, and left tackle. But that’s why this is a long shot bet. If things fall together, the Broncos could certainly win the AFC West and make a run through the playoffs. Who knows, they might meet up with Carolina upon reaching the end.

Dan Salem:

That is an excellent bet to make for the 2019 Super Bowl, since betting on a team with odds worse than 20-1 is no fun at all. I’m kind of shocked to see San Francisco with 16-1 odds and Kansas City with 18-1 odds, since both teams feel like real long shots this season. No matter, Panthers versus Broncos is a great 2019 Super Bowl matchup in terms of winning money, but I’m willing to up the ante.

The Atlanta Falcons are only one full season removed from making the Super Bowl and nearly winning it, if not for a choke job/heroic comeback by New England. With 25-1 odds I love backing Matt Ryan. His team does not immediately illicit confidence this season, but Ryan’s offense is full of talent and the defense has added some key pieces that were missing last year. If the AFC South has two Super Bowl contenders, then the NFC South has three. New Orleans’ odds are not quite good enough, but much like Carolina, the Falcons’ are in the sweet spot and have been to the big game recently.

The Los Angeles Chargers are my AFC best bet with 25-1 odds to win the 2019 Super Bowl. Philip Rivers consistently comes up short in his quest for the playoffs, let alone a Super Bowl. Yet his team has never been more stacked on offense and defense, and the AFC West division is currently up for grabs after massive quarterback turnover. Imagine the Chargers bringing a title to Los Angeles only a year after moving and while still playing in a temporary stadium. This is a fun bet to make no matter where you live!

NFL Predictions: Vikings Top Eagles as NFC's Best

The theme of our best bets for the 2019 Super Bowl is simple. Combine consistent quarterback play at a high level with a reliable running game and strong defense. Both Atlanta and Los Angeles have some work to do in proving their defenses are approaching elite, but their offenses are poised to be just that. Rivers and Ryan are two of the games best and one likely wins a championship before their career ends. Will this be the season?

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