Kansas City Chiefs favorites to win next 2 Super Bowls
The Kansas City Chiefs are not only slight favorites over the 49ers to win this year’s Super Bowl, but also slight favorites over San Francisco to win the 2021 Super Bowl.
The Westgate sportsbook posted futures odds on next year’s Super Bowl and made the Chiefs the 7-1 favorites, followed closely by the 49ers and Baltimore Ravens at 8-1.
“We had those teams literally the same, but you want to make someone the favorite,” said Ed Salmons, Westgate vice president of risk. “They’re all so close.”
Kansas City is the plus 140 favorite at the Westgate to win Super Bowl LIV on Feb. 2, and the Niners are the plus 150 second choice. The Titans are 7-1 and the Packers 8-1.
The Ravens went 14-2 this season to earn the AFC’s No. 1 playoff seed behind projected NFL MVP Lamar Jackson. But they were knocked out of the playoffs by Tennessee in a stunning 28-12 loss.
“The thing about Baltimore, even though it’s a team that’s been in the playoffs, it kind of felt like a new team,” Salmons said. “Jackson didn’t play a good game. He’s got to learn how to win through these rounds. We think the Ravens are still a top-three team.”
The Saints are the 10-1 fourth choice. New Orleans coach Sean Payton said he expects Drew Brees to return next season. The quarterback, who turned 41 on Wednesday, led the Saints to a 13-3 record this season, but they were upset by the Vikings in the wild-card round.
The Patriots and Steelers are tied for the fifth choice at 12-1 despite uncertainty about the return of New England quarterback Tom Brady and Pittsburgh QB Ben Roethlisberger.
“Whether it’s Andy Dalton or Brady, the Patriots still have (coach Bill) Belichick,” Salmons said. “Pittsburgh’s quarterbacks last year were just horrendous. If you put Roethlisberger back there with their defense, that’s a team that will definitely be a contender next year.”
The Dallas Cowboys are 16-1 to win the Super Bowl after firing coach Jason Garrett following an 8-8 season and replacing him with former Packers coach Mike McCarthy.
“Getting rid of Jason Garrett is an improvement,” Salmons said. “The team has a ton of talent, and analyticwise, they were very unlucky this year.
“If you look at their numbers and look at Seattle’s and don’t look at their record, you would’ve thought Dallas went 11-5, not Seattle.”
The Seahawks, Packers and Eagles are at 20-1, followed by a pack of eight teams at 30-1.
Raiders 40-1 to win Super Bowl LV
The Raiders, who will move from Oakland to Las Vegas, are at 40-1 to win the Super Bowl. But Salmons said their true odds are much longer.
“If they weren’t the Las Vegas Raiders — let’s say their name is the Miami Dolphins — they’d be 100-1,” he said. “They’re that low because they’re here and the Raiders have a huge following every year. They’re a public team, and now that they’ll be in Las Vegas, they’re really going to be a public team.
“We know the public is going to come in and bet them, so we have them lower and raised other teams higher.”
Despite their long odds to win the Super Bowl, Salmons expects the Raiders to be better next season after finishing 7-9 in 2019.
“They have a lot of nice young parts to the team and a lot of draft capital,” he said. “I expect them to really improve next season. I saw a number of 6½ for their win total, but we think it’s more like 7½.
“I think they have a decent shot to at least be a wild-card team.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twikantter.