2016-17 NFL Super Bowl Betting Predictions
Although the Hall Of Fame game was cancelled last weekend the NFL preseason has officially arrived with teams set to duke it out in actual games this coming weekend.
While there is a stack of pre-season markets to bet on we are deciding to stay out as there is so much volatility in the prices and variance in the results. Instead, we will go ahead and shift focus on Week 1.
However, with the season projections now done we were able to take a look at the Super Bowl betting markets and have found a value play to go along with our early play on the New York Giants at $41 with Sportsbet.
So, without further ado we give you our projected Super Bowl champion for the 2016/17 NFL Season.
TIP: Cincinnati Bengals @ $17 with Sportsbet
Well, well, well, even we are surprised we are tipping the Bengals. They are one of thirteen teams in the NFL to have still not won a Super Bowl but at 17-1 this year we think they are decent value as we have assessed them a 10-1 chance of winning.
Here’s why…
Last season they went unbeaten up until Week 10! Amidst all the Carolina hype many followers forgot how honest this Bengals team was.
They were arguably the second best team in Football when their quarterback Andy Dalton went down with a hand injury in Week 14 against the Steelers. While his replacement AJ McCarron proved a solid back-up he certainly wasn’t playing on the level that the Red Rifle had achieved.
Dalton’s QBR was above 60 for the first time in his career (73.1) throwing just seven interceptions in 13 games while achieving the highest completion percentage of his career with 66.1% of passes completed.
All four of their regular season losses came against playoff teams (Arizona, Houston, Pittsburgh and Denver). They also should have beaten the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Wildcard matchup that the Steelers stole in the final minutes.
They have a balanced attacked between the run and aerial game and we expect another career year from Andy Dalton and that in turn should ensure another strong season for star receiver AJ Green. Dalton’s average pass completed distance last year was at 8.42, a big bump up from his previous career average of around seven.
The defence has been solid for a while now (10th in DVOA last season) against both the run and the pass and we expect that trend to continue this season, there is too much talent here to ignore. They’ve also got continuity on their side. This team has gone above .500 in their last five seasons and 10 wins or higher in their past four! That’s a rock solid platform to take in and the questions on the coaching staff while fair are somewhat overrated. Last years playoff loss to Pittsburgh would have been avoided if it wasn’t for the sloppy penalty conceded late in the game. Who knows what would have happened if the Bengals had a shot at the Broncos after beating their division rivals in a playoff game.
You can check out highlights of the Bengals taking on the Steelers by clicking here.
Those key division rivals in Pittsburgh will be without their number two receiver Martavis Bryant for the entire season and star running back Le’veon Bell until week 5. The Bengals should be slightly favoured to win their division and be in contention for a crucial Week 1 bye.
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