After ending the Carolina Panthers’ improbable playoff run with a dominating 31-17 win in their NFC Divisional Playoff matchup over the weekend, Russell Wilson and the Seattle Seahawks have tightened their grip on top spot on the Super Bowl betting lines at the online sportsbooks and enter Conference Championship Weekend as the 5/4 Super Bowl favorites in NFL online futures betting.
It has been a roller coaster season in Super Bowl 2015 betting for Seattle, who opened the regular season with odds of 6/1, trailing only Peyton Manning and the Denver Broncos, the team they handily defeated back in Super Bowl XLVIII.
The Seahawks struggled to a 3-3 start to the season, leading their Super Bowl odds downward to 8/1 behind the Broncos, the Green Bay Packers, and the New England Patriots.
But after shaking off their Super Bowl hangover with six straight wins to close out their regular season, oddsmaker confidence returned, with the Seahawks entering the holiday season once again pegged as one of the top Super Bowl picks at the online sportsbooks.
Seattle is closely trailed in the current Super Bowl betting odds by Tom Brady and the Patriots. The AFC’s top seed enters their Conference Championship matchup against Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts with Super Bowl odds of 19/10.
The Pats opened their season as a solid 8/1 Super Bowl bet, but struggled early on, reaching a low point in a devastating 41-14 Monday Night Football loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Week 4, dropping them to 2-2 on the campaign and causing their Super Bowl odds to tumble as far down as 25/2.
But like the Seahawks, the Patriots responded, posting 10 SU wins in their final 12 regular season matchups and improving their odds to 3/1 entering Week 17.
Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers have won 12 of their last 14 games SU, but with a date against the Seahawks on Sunday afternoon at CenturyLink Field they enter Conference Championship weekend with long odds of 11/2 in Super Bowl online betting at the sportsbooks.
The Packers lost two of their first three games this past season, sending their Super Bowl odds tumbling to 22/1, but overall have been the steadiest performer on the Super Bowl betting lines since overcoming their early season struggles.
The surprising Indianapolis Colts round out the pack with odds of 13/2 in Super Bowl online betting as they prepare to face the Patriots at Gillette Stadium on Sunday. The Colts opened the season at a distant 22/1 odds and then fell as far back as 28/1 on that list after posting SU losses in their first two outings.
But Indy quickly rocketed to as high as 10/1 on the Super Bowl odds at the sportsbooks after bouncing back with five straight wins before settling in at 18/1 for much of the remainder of the regular season.