With only three weeks remaining in the regular season, Super Bowl favorites like the Ravens, 49ers, Saints, Patriots and Chiefs aren’t get any major overhauls in their Big Game futures – outside of an injury to a key player. However, the mid-tier teams vying for a postseason spot do see some big adjustments week to week.
Covers senior industry analyst Jason Logan looks at the biggest climb and farthest fall in the Super Bowl LIV odds and dissects the MVP race, which is pretty much Lamar Jackson’s to lose.
BIGGEST RISE: TENNESSEE TITANS
OPEN: 60/1
WEEK 14: 80/1
WEEK 15: 50/1
What in the Ryan Tannehill is going on in the Music City? The Titans, who averaged less than 19 points per game through the first nine weeks of the season, have totaled 150 points during their current four-game winning streak and have everyone in the AFC sweating. This is a team no one wants to play in the postseason, what with a stingy defense and the sudden scoring surge. Tennessee has a monster game versus Houston this Thursday and then gets another shot at the Texans in Week 17 – a game that could decide the AFC South or have a Wild Card ticket on the line for the Titans.
BIGGEST FALL: OAKLAND RAIDERS
OPEN: 100/1
WEEK 14: 300/1
WEEK 15: 1,000/1
For a brief moment, the Silver and Black thought they might give Oakland a proper send off with the AFC West title within their grasp. Then the Raiders got their asses waxed at Kansas City and got up off the mat just long enough for Tennessee to land a KO punch, sending Oakland tumbling down the Big Game board and launching its mouthguard into the third row. The Raiders have been outscored 116-33 during their current three-game slide and head into the final game at the Coliseum versus Jacksonville this weekend before wrapping 2019 – and the Oakland Chapter of the franchise – on the road in the final two games. Viva Las Vegas.
MVP WATCH: LAMAR JACKSON, BALTIMORE RAVENS
OPEN: 100/1
WEEK 14: -300
WEEK 15: -800
This section of our weekly NFL futures odds update has been redundant since Week 7 when Jackson went head-to-head with fellow MVP frontrunner Russell Wilson at Seattle. He finished the game with so-so day passing numbers but rushed for 116 yards and touchdown – going full “Ready Player One” with the video game moves. Some would say betting Jackson at this point in the pricing is dumb, but if you’ve got the cheddar to get down big on -800 and don’t mind tying up that cash for a bit, it’s pretty much free money. A $5,000 investment returns $625 in profits. For those shaking their heads: if you found $625 on the ground, would you pick it up? You bet your ass you would. This is the same thing.
