2021-22 NFL betting: NFC season preview & Super Bowl odds

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the defending Super Bowl champions and the clear favorite to win the NFC Championship again in 2021-22. Will the Buccaneers defend their crown, or will another team in the NFC rise up to knock them down? Here’s a look at the top contenders to win the Super Bowl out of the NFC this season as well as some of the conference’s best bets.

NFC Super Bowl odds & top teams

Tampa Bay Buccaneers

• +600 to win Super Bowl
• +325 to win NFC

Remarkably, the Buccaneers managed to return all 22 starters from last year’s Super Bowl-winning squad. This is an elite team on both sides of the ball, and there is no reason not to expect them to be even better in 2021 given the chemistry they built last season in going 8-0 straight up and 6-2 against the spread down the stretch. Tom Brady is 44 years old and will have to drop off eventually, but the seven-time Super Bowl winner has not shown any signs of slowing down.

Green Bay Packers

• +1100 to win Super Bowl
• +600 to win NFC

After a tumultuous offseason in which it looked as though Aaron Rodgers would not return to the Green Bay Packers, the team worked things out with the reigning NFL MVP and will have Rodgers back under center in 2021. Rodgers threw 48 touchdown passes and only five interceptions last season and led the Packers to a 7-0 (5-2 ATS) record over the seven games before they lost to Tampa Bay in the NFC Championship. Green Bay will need another MVP-caliber season from Rodgers to get back in the mix in 2021-22.

Los Angeles Rams

• +1600 to win Super Bowl
• +750 to win NFC

The Rams advanced to the Super Bowl in 2018 where they lost to the New England Patriots 13-3 behind a pitiful performance from Jared Goff. Goff continued to be a weakness for this team in 2019 and 2020, and Los Angeles finally made a move by trading him to the Detroit Lions in a blockbuster deal for Matthew Stafford. The Rams’ lack of depth will leave them just a few injuries away from doom, but with an excellent quarterback to go along with their elite defense, Los Angeles could do some damage this year.

San Francisco 49ers

• +1600 to win Super Bowl
• +750 to win NFC

The 49ers went just 6-10 (7-9 ATS) after being hit by a slew of injuries on both offense and defense. And now, just one year removed from a 13-3 regular season and a trip to the Super Bowl in 2019, the 49ers are getting 16/1 odds to win the big game this season. San Francisco should be back in playoff form this season, but the development of third-overall draft pick Trey Lance at quarterback could be the X-factor in just how far this team goes.

The field

Super Bowl odds for the rest of the NFC:

• +2500 – Seattle Seahawks
• +2800 – Dallas Cowboys
• +3500 – New Orleans Saints
• +4000 – Arizona Cardinals, Minnesota Vikings, Washington
• +6600 – Chicago Bears
• +7500 – Atlanta Falcons
• +8000 – Carolina Panthers
• +10000 – Philadelphia Eagles
• +15000 – Detroit Lions

2021-22 NFC futures picks

Dak Prescott, 2021/22 Comeback Player of the Year – Dak Prescott had 1,856 passing yards and nine passing touchdowns in four-and-a-half games last season before going down for the year with a leg injury. In his last full season in 2019, Prescott had 4,902 passing yards and 30 touchdowns. Assuming Prescott stays healthy (he had never missed a game before last year’s fluke injury), it’s hard to see any other player winning the Comeback Player of the Year award.

Tampa Bay OVER 11.5 total wins – The Buccaneers went 11-5 last season as Tom Brady and the offense got used to playing with each other. Tampa Bay won its last eight games and should pick up right where it left off. Brady led the Patriots to 12 or more wins in nine of his last 10 seasons in New England. The schedule is extremely manageable and now features 17 games. It’s hard to find six losses for this Bucs squad.