One of the big surprises so far this season in the NFL are the Atlanta Falcons.
Following last week’s upset win over the Denver Broncos the Falcons are 4-1 straight up and against the spread on the season and they already have a solid lead in the NFC South division standings. Atlanta also boasts the top-ranked offense in the league through five weeks and naturally they’re starting to make a move on the Super Bowl 51 futures.
Atlanta began the season as afterthoughts on the odds at +6600. After their hot start to the season they’ve climbed up to +1400. With Matt Ryan and Julio Jones putting on weekly clinics could this be the year for the Falcons?
While Atlanta continues to climb up the Super Bowl 51 odds the top continues to belong to the New England Patriots. Tom Brady returned from his suspension last week and immediately shredded the Cleveland Browns in a 33-13 win. That win and Brady’s 400-plus yards passing performance moved the Patriots up to +350 on the Super Bowl 51 odds. They were +400 a week earlier.
Rounding out the top five teams on the updated futures are the Pittsburgh Steelers at +675, the Minnesota Vikings at +750, the Green Bay Packers a +800 and the Seattle Seahawks at +850.
The ones we want to focus on are the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings remain undefeated on the season both SU and ATS after defeating the Houston Texans 31-13 last week. Minnesota is the only unbeaten team left standing, but that wasn’t supposed to happen after injuries to Teddy Bridgewater and Adrian Peterson.
The Vikings began the season at +2500 before climbing up to their current perch at +750. They won’t move much this week on their bye, but they should remain on bettors’ radar as the team to watch on the Super Bowl odds going forward.
While the Falcons and Vikings continue to find success and move up the futures the Carolina Panthers are flatlining and plummeting and the Cincinnati Bengals are also headed in the wrong direction.
Last week with Cam Newton out with a concussion the Panthers lost to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to drop to 1-4 on the season. Carolina fell one win short of their first Super Bowl title last season and began this season as a contender at +1000 on the Super Bowl 51 futures. Now you’ll find them at +4000. The Panthers’ chances to turn things around this season depend mostly on the health of Newton.
The Bengals started the season at +2000 and have slowly been slipping on the futures after losing three of their last four games, now residing at +4000 on the betting lines. With a date with the Patriots coming up Cincinnati’s fall down the odds will likely continue this week.