Last season ended on a disappointing note for the Cincinnati Bengals, who meekly bowed out of the NFL playoffs with a Wild Card Weekend loss to Indianapolis. But after opening their current campaign with six straight victories, the Bengals have joined the favorites in Super Bowl 50 betting with 10/1 odds at the sportsbooks.
The Bengals kicked off the season well back of the pack with 50/1 odds following a 10-5-1 campaign in which they suffered straight-up defeats in three of their last five outings.
Cincinnati has been anything but meek this season, going 6-0 SU and 5-0-1 ATS, including a pair of critical victories over Seattle and Buffalo in their last two outings to give them a two-game lead over Pittsburgh in the divisional standings.
The Bengals are joined by the undefeated Denver Broncos, who also enter Week 7 at 10/1 after opening the season at an already strong 14/1.
The Broncos have been getting it done this year with a stellar fourth-ranked defense, but have struggled at the sportsbooks of late, with just one ATS win in their last three games.
The Carolina Panthers also stunned Seattle last weekend, capturing a 27-23 road win to move to 6-0 SU and 5-1 ATS, but still lag behind the favorites with 20/1 Super Bowl odds.
At the front of the pack, the New England Patriots have moved ahead of the Green Bay Packers as favorites to repeat as Super Bowl champs.
The Patriots have improved to 11/4, after seeing their odds tumble as far as 12/1 during the summer.
The 6-0 Packers are coming off their 13th consecutive SU win at Lambeau Field, a 27-20 win over San Diego, and maintain very strong 13/4 odds at the sportsbooks.
The 4-2 Arizona Cardinals, meanwhile, suffered a disappointing 25-13 loss to Pittsburgh last weekend, but still reside among the Super Bowl favorites at 12/1.
The Cardinals scored 42 or more points in three of their first five games, but their performance against the Steelers was more reminiscent of last season’s squad, which averaged just 13 points in their final three games.
The Philadelphia Eagles join the Steelers at 18/1, following their 27-7 victory over the New York Giants, trailed by the Seahawks and Atlanta Falcons, who join Carolina at 20/1.
The resurgent New York Jets, who opened the season at a distant 100/1, sit alongside the Indianapolis Colts at 20/1 ahead of the Giants at 33/1, and the Minnesota Vikings and Dallas Cowboys, both at 50/1.
The Bills and St. Louis Rams are deadlocked at 75/1, followed by the New Orleans Saints and Miami Dolphins at 100/1, and the Chargers and Houston Texans at 150/1.
The Washington Redskins have tumbled to 200/1, followed by the Oakland Raiders and Tennessee Titans at 250/1, the Detroit Lions, Kansas City Chiefs, San Francisco 49ers, and Tampa Bay Buccaneers at 300/1, and the Baltimore Ravens, Cleveland Browns, and Chicago Bears at 500/1, while the Jacksonville Jaguars have plummeted to 1000/1 longshots.