On Thursday, September 8, the National Football League finally returns, and with it, stacks of NFL betting picks opportunities.
The season opens with an all-star rumble between the Buffalo Bills and Los Angeles Rams, but here, we’re looking to the Futures markets. Check out some of the highlight NFL odds for the 2022 season:
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Outright Winners: Buffalo Bills +600
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AFC South Winners: Indianapolis Colts -125
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NFC South Winners: Tampa Bay Buccaneers -333
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Playoffs Dark Horses: Minnesota Vikings -110
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Regular Season MVP: Josh Allen +700
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Comeback of the Year: Derrick Henry +300
Keep reading for a closer look at the main markets for 2022 NFL betting and the outsiders that could climb ahead of the sportsbook favourites.
NFL Super Bowl outright betting
There are two clear frontrunners for Super Bowl LVII: the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Both sides are strong in defence and offence, with the Allen-led Bills tipped to go all the way at +600 in the NFL odds.
The Bucs, buoyed by Tom Brady’s U-turn on his retirement, remain a real force in the NFC, boasting a team that’s almost as strong as when they won Super Bowl LV. Tampa Bay sits at +700 to do it again just two years later.
In the chasing pack, you’ll find the Kansas City Chiefs (+900), the reigning champion Los Angeles Rams (+1000), and Green Bay Packers (+1000).
Seeing the defending champions this far out in the odds is a bit bizarre as they could be seen as having a roster that’s just as strong, and they could work some magic at the trade deadline.
2022 NFL Division winners betting
There are some clear betting favourites to snag several division crowns in the 2022 NFL regular season. As the Super Bowl favourites, it won’t come as a surprise that the Bills are tipped to win the AFC East at -225.
Elsewhere, the Indianapolis Colts are a shoo-in for the AFC South at -125, the Packers are tipped to take the NFC North at -200, and Tampa Bay will surely top the NFC South at -333.
The other divisions are far more closely contested, with a few Super Bowl frontrunners needing to climb over some mighty teams to make it to the playoffs:
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AFC North: Ravens (+140), Bengals (+160)
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AFC West: Chiefs (+160), Chargers (+225), Broncos (+260)
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NFC East: Cowboys (+140), Eagles (+150)
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NFC West: Rams (+120), 49ers (+175)
Of the bunch, the Philadelphia Eagles look to be a sneakily good pick for the NFC East. The odds are swung out because of the known strength of the Dallas Cowboys, while with Philly, it’s much more a sense of potential.
Behind the best offensive line in the NFL, third-year shot-caller and classy scrambler, Jalen Hurts, now has an undoubtedly elite target in the passing game, A.J. Brown.
Furthermore, the defence has been padded with the additions of James Bradberry, Haason Reddick, and Jordan Davis.
They do both have easier schedules, per schedule strength calculations based on records, with the Eagles’ narrowly more difficult at .464 to Dallas’ .462.
Still, if the team improves as it should, the Eagles might just land the NFC East top spot for the first time since 2019.
AJ BROWN. TIE GAME. #NFLPlayoffs #Titans
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Dark horses to make the playoffs in the NFL odds
In the odds, all of the Super Bowl favourites and some of the longer shots are odds-on in the To Make the Playoffs market. The more intriguing odds go to the dark horses: the ones that could land a Wild Card spot for the playoffs.
Leading the way for the dark horses to get into the playoffs is the offence-heavy Minnesota Vikings (-110) – a team that boasts Dalvin Cook, Justin Jefferson, Kirk Cousins, and Adam Thielen.
Just behind them, it’s Kyler Murray and JJ Watt with the Arizona Cardinals (+100), the Miami Dolphins (+130) – a team that now has Tyreek Hill and Melvin Ingram – and the New Orleans Saints (+130).
NFL MVP, Coach, and Comeback awards odds
For the Regular Season MVP, everyone has their eyes on Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who sits at +700 to put in another almighty season.
Also in the mix, however, is last season’s runner-up, Tom Brady, who won ten of the 50 votes and is at +800 to claim the crown for the 2022 campaign. Nestled between the two is the Chiefs’ slinger, Patrick Mahomes, at +750.
For Comeback of the Year, we’ve got two running backs and a quarterback who missed huge chunks of last season, and a once-highly-rated quarterback – who also missed some time in 2021.
Among the QBs, there’s the Saints’ Jameis Winston at +550, who bowed out in Week 8 of last season, and Daniel Jones.
The signal-caller for the New York Giants was taken sixth overall in 2019, but over the summer, the team declined Jones’ fifth-year option, putting mounds of pressure on the +900 shot to take this award.
The comeback that early-pickers in Fantasy Football will be banking on is that of Christian McCaffrey.
The Panthers’ dual-threat has played ten games in the last couple of years due to serious injuries often leaving Canadian back Chuba Hubbard to fill the void. “Run CMC” is at +900 to make a big comeback.
Leading the comeback odds is Derrick Henry at +300.
The monstrous rusher for the Tennessee Titans put up 1,540 yards and 16 rushing touchdowns in 2019, 2,027 yards and 17 rushing touchdowns in 2020, but broke down in Game 8 of 2021 – just 63 rushing yards shy of 1,000 and already on ten touchdowns along the ground.
Finally, for the Coach of the Year Award, it’s a four-coach race between Brian Daboll (New York Giants), Mike McDaniel (Miami Dolphins), Nathaniel Hackett (Denver Broncos), and Brandon Staley (Los Angeles Chargers). All four of these coaches lead the way at +1400 to take the prize.
That’s your rundown of the NFL odds for the main football betting markets coming into the 2022 season. Who will you be backing to find success on the gridiron this year?
*Credit for all images in this article belongs to AP Photo*
FIRST PUBLISHED: 7th September 2022
