Picking a team to win the next Super Bowl is a tough task…
can we at least nail the right division?
Where Will NFL Champ Come From?
What Happened: Today over at ESPN, Dan Graziano ranked the NFL’s divisions from strongest to weakest. (Sorry, NFC South fans.)
It’s an interesting exercise that got the team at FCS wondering: if you needed to pick a division to win the Super Bowl, who would you go with?
Why It Matters: We first checked the odds for each division to win the Super Bowl (via Caesars Sportsbook) to see how much the odds differ from ESPN’s rankings. The answer? Not too much.
Both ESPN and Caesars are high on the AFC North and NFC West, and both think the NFC South is the pits.
The divisions with the biggest discrepancies are both in the AFC: the West and South. Caesars thinks that the West has as good a chance as any division (+425) to finish the season as champs. Which makes sense: the Chiefs are back-to-back champs, and in a division with two teams rebuilding in the Chargers and Broncos, plus the rudderless Raiders, they will have another easy path to the playoffs, if not home-field advantage.
If you were to ride with the South at +900 odds (the second-highest on the board, behind only the NFC South; isn’t football a way of life down there, what’s going on?) you are probably banking on C.J. Stroud improving upon a historic rookie season and earning the Texans their first title. Or you are a Trevor Lawrence Believer and think season three with Doug Pederson is the one where he becomes the QB everyone expected coming out of Clemson.
What Weâre Watching Today
Twins at Padres (6:40 PM ET) – These teams find themselves in similar positions – both still chasing a division title (Minnesota is 3.5 games behind, San Diego just three) but still facing stiff competition in a crowded wild card race.
Phillies at Atlanta (7:20 PM ET) –Â If Atlanta is going to challenge for the NL East crown, now is there chance. A 3-1 win last night pulled it within six games of first-place Philly; Atlanta has now won seven of 10, while the Phils have dropped two straight. Another loss here and the City of Brotherly Love is gonna start to sweat.
The Look Ahead
Justin Verlander STRIKEOUTS– On the one hand, relying on a 41-year old who hasn’t pitched since June 9 because of neck pain is a risky proposition. On the other hand, it’s Justin f’ing Verlander. The future Hall of Famer still has something left in the tank, as evidenced by his four games with 7+ strikeouts this season. His line today is just 4.5, against a Boston Red Sox squad that is second in MLB in strikeouts over the last week of play.
