NFL 2017 Odds: Raiders, Packers, Patriots, Steelers Among Divisional Betting Favorites

Tom Brady Seattle Seahawks — The New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks have the best betting odds to be divisional champions in the 2017 NFL season. Pictured: Tom Brady carries the ball as he is pressured by Ahtyba Rubin at Gillette Stadium on Nov. 13, 2016 in Foxboro, Massachusetts. Getty Images

The 2017 NFL regular season starts in just one week, and a few teams will consider it to be a colossal disappointment if they fail to make the playoffs. The New England Patriots, Pittsburgh Steelers, Green Bay Packers and Seattle Seahawks are odds-on favorites to win their respective divisions.

The Oakland Raiders have the best betting odds to win the AFC West, though all four teams in the division have a real chance to make the playoffs. The same goes for the NFC East, where the Dallas Cowboys and New York Giants are the favorites to finish in first place.

The Houston Texans and Tennessee Titans have identical odds to win the AFC South, though the Indianapolis Colts aren’t far behind. The Atlanta Falcons have the best odds to win the NFC South, but an argument can be made for the Carolina Panthers, Tampa Bay Buccaneers and the New Orleans Saints to all compete for the divisional crown.

The AFC East is the only division that’s considered to have no real competition. Even after losing Julian Edelman, the Patriots are -1000 favorites to finish in first place. The defending Super Bowl champions are favored to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the third time in four years, and they’ve failed to win the division just once since 2003. New England’s one misstep came in 2008 when Tom Brady went down for the entire season in Week 1.

The Seahawks have the second-best odds as -275 favorites. Seattle was the only NFC West team to finish above .500 in 2016, while the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers had two of the NFC’s three worst records. The Arizona Cardinals went 7-8-1 after winning the NFC West with 13 victories in 2015.

The Kansas City Chiefs are the only reigning division winner that doesn’t at least share the best odds to win their respective division in 2017. Kansas City was able to win the AFC West title a year ago after Derek Carr suffered an injury that ended his season.

Only two of the eight 2015 division winners repeated as champions in 2016. The NFC saw all four divisions get new winners.

How many 2016 divisional champions will be able to repeat in 2017? Here’s a look at the betting odds for each division in the upcoming NFL season, via Boada.lv:

AFC East

New England Patriots-1000

Miami Dolphins+1000

Buffalo Bills+1200

New York Jets+5000

AFC North

Pittsburgh Steelers-150

Baltimore Ravens+350

Cincinnati Bengals+300

Cleveland Browns+2500

AFC South

Houston Texans+200