NFL futures: These teams are worth backing in the Super Bowl market
We've crossed the halfway point in the NFL season. It's happened. Don't cry because it's over, smile because we still have two months of regular- season action left, and we've got a solid batch of quality teams worth investing in to hoist the Lombardi Trophy in Las Vegas in February. Here are two worth a look.
Baltimore Ravens (+950 DraftKings)
A good barometer of whether or not a team is good is how they perform when tasked with strong teams on the other end.
Well, Baltimore is passing that test with flying colors, and that may even be too tame of a descriptor to explain what the Ravens are doing right now.
Baltimore has had two big matchups recently against the Lions and Seahawks. They combined to throttle those NFC division leaders 75-9.
They are dominating teams on both ends, and Lamar Jackson is quietly playing some terrific football. Why can't this be the Ravens year? Baltimore tops the NFL with a +115 point differential through nine weeks.
Baltimore currently sits at 7-2, tied for the best record in the AFC. They have some extremely tough games coming up against Cincinnati, Cleveland, Pittsburgh, San Francisco, Jacksonville and Miami. We're going to learn a lot about what type of team this is over the next two months. I for one want some investment in one of the more dominant teams up to this point.
Detroit Lions (+1500 FanDuel)
Can you imagine what would happen to the city of Detroit if their beloved Lions finally won a Super Bowl. It'd be a sight I'd love to see, those fans deserve it.
This has to be the the most hopeful a Lions fan has been in... decades? Detroit sits at 6-2 off their bye week, alone at the top of the NFC North and currently owners of the second seed in the NFC.
While Philadelphia is 8-1 and the better team, there's one big reason to consider backing Detroit in the futures market, that being their schedule.
The Eagles are heading into a gauntlet here, facing Kansas City, Buffalo, San Francisco, Dallas and Seattle in successive weeks. Meanwhile, the Lions remaining opponents are the Chargers, Bears (twice), Packers, Saints, Broncos, Vikings (twice) and Cowboys.
It's not inconceivable that Detroit ends this season at 13-4 or better, and if Philly slips up in their upcoming stretch, it could be enough for the Lions to take homefield advantage into the playoffs.
We've gone this far without even mentioning the actual players on this team. This Lions team has shown the ability to be explosive on offense thanks to an elite offensive line and a packed cupboard of skill-position players, and their defense is getting plus-perfomances all over the field.
It's an exciting time in Detroit. There's a path here for the NFC's top seed, which would of course make their journey to the Super Bowl all the more realistic.
More must-reads: