Could the Oakland Raiders really be Super Bowl 51 contenders? The oddsmakers definitely think so after giving them a solid boost on the Super Bowl 51 odds. Oakland currently sits fourth on the futures list at +1200.
Oakland has earned the praise too. With last week’s win over the Houston Texans on Monday Night Football the Raiders have won four straight and are on top of the AFC West at 8-2. With back-to-back home games against the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills coming up the Raiders’ winning streak could definitely continue, as could their march up the Super Bowl futures.
To make a move the Raiders will need one of the teams in front of them to falter. That doesn’t appear to be in the cards for the New England Patriots (+225), Dallas Cowboys (+500) and Seattle Seahawks (+625). All three are up slightly this week and have looked like the league’s elite in recent weeks.
One team that has to be confusing futures bettors right now are the Pittsburgh Steelers. Pittsburgh finally snapped their four-game losing streak last week, but don’t get too carried away because it came against the winless Cleveland Browns. Pittsburgh did make a move on the futures, getting up to +1400 from +1800 a week ago. Fortune could be shining on the Steelers though as they get the Indianapolis Colts minus Andrew Luck on Thanksgiving night.
Also moving in the right direction on the Super Bowl futures right now are the New York Giants. The Giants have quietly won five straight to put themselves squarely in the playoff picture in the NFC. The winning streak has also moved them up to +2000 on the Super Bowl futures. A date with Cleveland this week all but assures another win, but it gets much tougher after that with back-to-back games against Pittsburgh and Dallas.
The biggest losers on the Super Bowl futures continue to be the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers. Both started the season as Super Bowl contenders, but neither has come close to living up to expectations.
Green Bay began the season as the Super Bowl favorite, but has fallen far fast. Last week Green Bay lost their fourth in a row and it wasn’t even close as they were pummeled by the Washington Redskins. Following that rout Green Bay has dropped to +5000 on the Super Bowl futures. That’s down from +2500 last week and from +600 where they started the season.
The Cardinals lost to the Minnesota Vikings last week, dropping under .500 at 4-5-1. They also dropped to +5000 on the Super Bowl futures from +2200 a week ago. Arizona’s chances of turning things around look bleak with a road game against the Atlanta Falcons this week and a matchup with surging Washington to follow in Week 13.