I can already hear Carrie Underwood’s “Waiting All Day for Sunday Night” playing in the back of my head. That’s right — football season is around the corner! The NFL season begins September 7 as the Detroit Lions visit the defending champs, the Kansas City Chiefs, at Arrowhead Stadium for the first edition of Thursday Night Football. Although we still have a few weeks before football season begins, it’s time to take a look at the futures market and find some value in the long term. That brings me to the NFC Championship market, a title currently held by the Philadelphia Eagles.
Last season’s NFC Championship game was shaping up to be one of the best games of the entire year, but the excitement wore off fast. After Brock Purdy’s injury in the first quarter, the 49ers’ offense became Christian McCaffrey. That led to a very boring final 3 quarters of the game, but I digress. Looking ahead at this season, the Eagles hold the shortest odds to be crowned NFC Champions. However, the 49ers and Cowboys are not far behind. Without further ado, let’s get into the odds to win the NFC along with my best bet and longshot pick.
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NFC Championship winner odds
Odds provided by FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing
Philadelphia Eagles +330
San Francisco 49ers +400
Dallas Cowboys +600
Detroit Lions +900
Seattle Seahawks +1300
Minnesota Vikings +1400
New Orleans Saints +1700
Green Bay Packers +1800
New York Giants +2200
Chicago Bears +2500
Atlanta Falcons +2500
Washington Commanders +3000
Carolina Panthers +3000
Los Angeles Rams +3500
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +4000
Arizona Cardinals +8500
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NFC Championship best bet: Philadelphia Eagles (+330)
The NFC is going to be very interesting this season. A lot of NFC teams underwent huge changes in the offseason, like the Saints acquiring Derek Carr, the Packers losing Aaron Rodgers and Tom Brady retiring (again), to name a few. However, 2 teams stood out amongst the rest in their offseason moves, and that’s the Philadelphia Eagles and the San Francisco 49ers. Oddsmakers obviously agree since those teams have the shortest odds to win the NFC, and it seems hard to imagine that any other team could reach the level the Niners and Eagles are at right now. My thought process is the Cowboys got slightly better with the additions of Brandin Cooks and Stephon Gilmore, but I still can’t trust Dak Prescott in high-pressure situations.
The Lions have a young and exciting core of players, but they’re not on the same level as the 49ers or Eagles on either side of the ball. And then there’s the Seahawks, Vikings and Saints, who all come next, but each team has their faults that seem too big to fix right now.
Taking all of that into consideration, I envision the NFC being a 2-man race between the 49ers and Eagles. And after analyzing each squad, I have to lean toward the Eagles. It’s not the sexiest pick to take the favorite, but it does make the most sense. Philadelphia improved their backfield by adding D’Andre Swift and made their defense even scarier by drafting Jalen Carter and Nolan Smith. It’s hard to find a weak point on either side of the ball for the Eagles heading into the season, and honestly, I think they have a real shot at lifting the Lombardi Trophy next February.
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NFC Championship longshot bet: Detroit Lions (+900)
Put the paper bags away Lions, you won’t be needing to wear those anymore. The Lions are on the upswing after several years of rebuilding, and the latest addition to their offense is running back Jahmyr Gibbs, Detroit’s 1st-round draft pick. Gibbs will join an already young core of players like Amon-Ra St. Brown and Brock Wright. It is important to note that Detroit will be missing some players after an investigation found some Lions players violated the gambling rule, but that shouldn’t affect them too much.
The biggest reason of all for the Lions as a longshot is because of the division they play in. The NFC North got a lot worse with Aaron Rodgers leaving the Packers, so it’s going to be a battle of the mediocre in that division this season. I’m not expecting too much from the Packers or Bears in 2023, and that leaves just the Minnesota Vikings. However, the Vikings have a difficult road ahead of them as they have the 8th-hardest schedule for this upcoming season while Detroit has the 11th-easiest. At near 10/1 odds, the Lions are deserving of a longshot bet to win the NFC Championship.
Now that you know our NFC picks, find out our AFC Championship best bets
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Pickswise is the home of free expert NFL Picks and NFL Odds. Be sure to check out all of our season previews and NFL Futures Bets leading up to the 2023 NFL season.
