TheLines: Chiefs and Bucs are betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVI

The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the top two betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVI, according to TheLines.com.
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The Kansas City Chiefs and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the top two betting favorites to win Super Bowl LVI and among the biggest favorites to win in Week 1, according to TheLines.com, which tracks odds in US regulated sports betting markets.

As the 2021 NFL season kicks off this week, a consensus of the nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including FanDuel, DraftKings, BetMGM, Caesars, PointsBet, SugarHouse, and Unibet — places the reigning AFC champion Chiefs at +500 to win the Super Bowl. At individual sportsbooks, Kansas City are being offered within a narrow range between +450 at BetMGM to +500 at several sportsbooks. 

The Buccaneers, the current Super Bowl champions, stand as a consensus +650 pick, offered at as low as +600 at DraftKings and PointsBet as high as +700 at BetMGM. At +1150, the Buffalo Bills are the next closest. Bettors’ favorites change from state to state.

Brett Collson, betting analyst at TheLines.com, commented: “As long as Pat Mahomes and Tom Brady are healthy, oddsmakers are going to like their teams’ chances to win the Super Bowl. But in the NFL, things rarely play out exactly as expected. If history is a guide, at least one team with relatively long odds will find itself in contention by year’s end.”

The Chiefs, Bucs, and Bills are followed by:

  • Baltimore Ravens (+1400)
  • Green Bay Packers (+1400)
  • San Francisco 49ers (+1400)
  • Los Angeles Rams (+1500)
  • Cleveland Browns (+1600)
  • Seattle Seahawks (+2500)
  • Tennessee Titans (+3000)
  • Los Angeles Chargers (+3300)
  • Dallas Cowboys (+3500)
  • Indianapolis Colts (+3500)
  • New England Patriots (+3700)
  • New Orleans Saints (+4000)
  • Miami Dolphins (+4000)
  • Arizona Cardinals (+4800)
  • Pittsburgh Steelers (+5000)
  • Washington Football Team (+5000)
  • Denver Broncos (+5000)
  • Minnesota Vikings (+5000)
  • Chicago Bears (+6600)
  • Atlanta Falcons (+8000)
  • New York Giants (+8000)
  • Carolina Panthers (+9000)
  • Las Vegas Raiders (+10000)
  • Philadelphia Eagles (+12500)
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (+13000)
  • New York Jets (+15000)
  • Cincinnati Bengals (+15000)
  • Detroit Lions (+25000)
  • Houston Texans (+30000)

As for Week 1, the Buccaneers are the week’s biggest favorite at -8, followed by the Rams (-7.5) and the 49ers (-7). Meanwhile, the Chiefs are 6-point favorites over the Browns, and with an over/under of 53 points, no opening matchup is expected to bring more offense.

The consensus point spreads for the rest of the Week 1 slate:

  • Dallas Cowboys at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-8); over/under 52
  • Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (-3); over/under 48
  • Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (-6.5); over/under 49
  • Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Cincinnati Bengals; over/under 48
  • San Francisco 49ers (-7) at Detroit Lions; over/under 45.5
  • Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans (-2.5); over/under 52
  • Seattle Seahawks (-2.5) at Indianapolis Colts; over/under 49.5
  • Los Angeles Chargers (-1) at Washington; over/under 44.5
  • New York Jets at Carolina Panthers (-4.5); over/under 45
  • Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5) at Houston Texans; over/under 44.5
  • Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs (-6); over/under 53
  • Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (-3); over/under 44
  • Green Bay Packers (-4) at New Orleans Saints; over/under 50
  • Denver Broncos (-3) at New York Giants; over/under 42
  • Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams (-7.5); over/under 45
  • Baltimore Ravens (-4) at Las Vegas Raiders; over/under 51

Collson added: “The first week of the NFL season is typically the hardest for oddsmakers to gauge. That leaves some attractive lines. But the difficult part for bettors is identifying the teams that will over perform and those that will disappoint.”