After losing the last two Super Bowls the NFC will look to get back on track behind a trio of top contenders, led by the defending conference champion Carolina Panthers at 10/1 betting odds to win Super Bowl LI.
Joining the Panthers – who lost Super Bowl 50 to the Denver Broncos 24-10 – are the Seattle Seahawks and Green Bay Packers, who are also both 10/1 and have each won the Vince Lombardi Trophy once over the past six years.
Carolina obviously had a very disappointing finish to the season but was the best team most of the year, finishing with only two losses. The Panthers will still have 2015 NFL MVP Cam Newton under center, and he will get another weapon back in leading receiver Kelvin Benjamin, who did not play during their stellar 15-1 regular season due to a torn ACL. Carolina was the lone team without a home loss last year.
Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers will welcome his top target Jordy Nelson back following an ACL injury as well. Rodgers did all he could to help the Packers without Nelson, but his two Hail Mary touchdown passes were not enough to get them back to the NFC Championship Game. They will probably need to win the NFC North though and play a home game or two in the postseason after seeing the upstart Minnesota Vikings (25/1) end their four-year reign atop the division last season.
Seattle will try to re-claim the NFC West in 2016 after seeing the Arizona Cardinals (18/1 to win Super Bowl LI) take the division title last year. The Seahawks do have a ton of talent coming back despite running back Marshawn Lynch likely retiring. Promising rookie running back Thomas Rawls is expected to be even better in his sophomore campaign and will replace Lynch assuming he fully recovers from an ankle injury that caused him to miss the last three games of the regular season along with the playoffs.
However, the top three favorites to win Super Bowl LI in 2017 all reside in the AFC, including the past two NFL champs. Denver is awaiting Peyton Manning’s decision on whether or not he will retire before offering backup Brock Osweiler a new contract. The Broncos also need to re-sign Super Bowl 50 MVP Von Miller and are 9/1 to repeat as champs along with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who hope the return of wide receiver Antonio Brown and running backs Le’Veon Bell and DeAngelo Williams from injuries will help them get over the top to win their seventh Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The New England Patriots are 15/2 favorites to win their fifth Super Bowl title behind perennial MVP candidate Tom Brady. The Patriots lost 20-18 at Denver in the AFC Championship Game and will attempt to reload for another shot. Home-field advantage will definitely be the key again, as the teams hosting the conference title games in both the AFC and NFC have advanced to the Super Bowl each of the last three years.