The Super Bowl is the most important time of the year for most American sports bettors. Sportsbooks and online sports betting sites go all-out in anticipation of Super Bowl Sunday when billions of dollars will be wagered on one measly game of football. While wagering on the game’s outcome is the most popular way to bet on the Super Bowl, it is far from the only way to get some skin in the game these days.
Super Bowl betting sites are particularly interested in giving bettors as many different ways as possible to put money on the festivities. BetOnline.ag is one of the most reputable NFL betting sites in the industry for a variety of reasons, not the least of which is the fact that they truly go above-and-beyond when it comes to Super Bowl wagering options.
The NFL playoffs are set to begin this weekend. While we still have about a month to go until Super Bowl 55 takes place in Tampa, it’s never too early to bet on the game itself. BetOnline is affording you the option to wager on which teams will actually square off in the game itself. With 14 teams in the playoff field this year, we have a total of 48 possible different Super Bowl 55 matchups. Over at BetOnline, you can bet on any of those 48 permutations being the eventual NFL title matchup.
48 combinations is a lot to sort through. Fortunately, we’ve done the hard work for you. The following are the five best Super Bowl 55 matchup betting values as we prepare for Wild Card Weekend.
Green Bay Packers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (+400)
As you may expect, a matchup between the top seeds in both conferences is the most likely Super Bowl matchup according to BetOnline. The Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs will be watching Wild Card Weekend on TV like the rest of us. That automatic berth in the Divisional Round obviously gives both teams an inherent leg-up on the field when it comes to charting their respective paths to Tampa.
It doesn’t take a rocket scientist to understand why this is a good bet. The Packers finished the regular season at 13-3 with a point differential of plus-140, which was the second-best mark in the NFC. Aaron Rodgers and co. will await the winner of this weekend’s matchup between Washington and Tampa Bay, unless a lower-seeded team winds up advancing.
Nobody makes more Big-Time Throws than Patrick Mahomes ?? pic.twitter.com/045GKZDjS3
— PFF (@PFF) January 5, 2021
The same is true of the Chiefs, who lost just one game during the regular season. Kansas City is the presumptive betting favorite to win the Super Bowl for the second year in a row, and it’s hard to argue against it. The Chiefs have been the best team in football this season by a very wide margin, but their Divisional Round matchup likely won’t be an easy one. The Chiefs will likely host the winner of the game between the Titans and Ravens in the next round.
The +400 odds in a potential Packers-Chiefs Super Bowl matchup are simply too good to ignore.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Kansas City Chiefs (+900)
With all due respect to the Saints, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers may well prove to be the biggest threat to the Packers in the NFC. New Orleans did sweep Tampa Bay in their season series, but the Bucs seem to be hitting their stride at the right time.
The Mike Evans injury is a potential stumbling block, but the Bucs are still heavy nine-point favorites in Washington this week. Assuming Tampa Bay is able to take care of the Football Team, the Bucs will face Green Bay at Lambeau Field in the Divisional Round. Evans may not even be needed in order for Tampa Bay to advance.
Let’s not forget that these teams have already squared off once this season. The Buccaneers blew the doors off of Rodgers and the Packers by a 38-10 margin in Tampa back in October. A lot has changed between then and now, but the Buccaneers are one of the few offenses in the NFL with enough ammunition to keep up with the Packers for a full 60 minutes.
Tom Brady has arguably the best arsenal of weapons at his disposal in the entire league if Evans is able to play in the Divisional Round. Opposing defenses typically aren’t geared toward being able to stop four legitimately above-average pass-catchers, which could prove problematic for Green Bay if the two teams do wind up meeting in a couple of weeks.
Brady has been quite proficient at advancing to the Super Bowl over the years. The future Hall-of-Famer has nine Super Bowl trips on his resume already, which is the most in NFL history for a single player. Who’s to say he can’t make it 10 in his first season with Tampa? The +900 odds on a potential Buccaneers-Chiefs Super Bowl matchup are very appealing.
Green Bay Packers vs. Buffalo Bills (+1000)
Most believe the team with the best chances of dethroning the Chiefs in the AFC is the Buffalo Bills. The Bills surged their way to a 13-3 season and the No. 2 seed in the AFC thanks in large part to a vastly improved offense. Buffalo captured the franchise’s first division title since the mid-1990s and enters the playoffs riding a six-game winning streak. The Bills haven’t actually lost since the DeAndre Hopkins “Hail Murray” catch for the Cardinals back on November 15.
Buffalo nabbing the No. 2 seed in the conference was huge because it means they will be able to avoid a potential matchup with the Chiefs until the AFC Championship Game. This sets up the aforementioned tricky matchup for KC with either Tennessee or Baltimore in the Divisional Round. While the Titans and Ravens are both flawed teams, we know both are fully capable of giving Kansas City a real fight.
The Bills will host the Colts on Wild Card Weekend before a likely matchup with the Steelers in the Divisional Round, assuming Pittsburgh gets past Cleveland. If you think the Chiefs aren’t a lock to get out of the AFC, betting on a Bills-Packers Super Bowl matchup at +1000 is awfully enticing.
Seattle Seahawks vs. Kansas City Chiefs (+1100)
While the AFC seems to be likely to come down to the Chiefs or Bills, the NFC is much more wide-open. Green Bay is the favorite by default, but would anyone be truly surprised if Tampa Bay, New Orleans, or Seattle wound up advancing to the Super Bowl?
The Packers have been great, but they have not looked as consistently dominant as Kansas City has. As a result, betting on some of the NFC underdogs makes plenty of sense. One team going consistently overlooked by bettors and oddsmakers alike is the Seattle Seahawks. The Seahawks generated plenty of headlines early in the season when they “let Russ cook,” but some inconsistent play over the last couple of months of the season has quelled public enthusiasm for this team.
Highest career playoff grades among this year’s playoff QBs:
1. Aaron Rodgers – 90.2
2. Russell Wilson – 84.5
3. Patrick Mahomes – 83.9
4. Drew Brees – 81.9 pic.twitter.com/xxiHiw1hh2— PFF (@PFF) January 6, 2021
Don’t look now, but the Seahawks enter the playoffs riding a four-game winning streak. Seattle has won four of six overall to finish tied with the Saints for the second-best record in the NFC. In the Wild Card Round, the Seahawks may well face a Rams team starting QB John Wolford, who has a grand total of one NFL start under his belt.
Assuming the Seahawks get past the Rams, they will likely face the Saints in the Divisional Round. New Orleans is a contender every year, but it’s been over a decade since the Saints have actually gotten out of the NFC. Seattle has just the fourth-best odds (+600) to advance to the Super Bowl out of the conference, and the seventh-best odds (+1400) to win it all.
A Seahawks-Chiefs Super Bowl 55 matchup is well within the realm of possibility, so the +1100 odds on this matchup stand out.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens (+3300)
If you’re looking for a little more bang for your buck, look no further than a potential Bucs-Ravens matchup at +3300.
The Baltimore Ravens fell off this season after finishing as the top seed in the AFC a year ago, but Baltimore did still manage to sneak into the playoffs. The Ravens face a stiff test on the road against the Titans in the Wild Card Round, but this is still largely the same team we saw go 14-2 just last season.
Nobody is talking about the Ravens at this point after a relatively uninspired 11-5 season, but this team is still dangerous. If Lamar Jackson is able to rediscover last season’s form, who’s to say the Ravens can’t engineer a playoff run? Jackson has thrown eight touchdowns to just two interceptions over his last three games while carrying the ball at least 10 times in every contest.
Barring an historic result tonight, the Ravens will end the season with the NFL’s No. 1 point differential for the second straight year.
1. Ravens (+165)
2. Saints (+145)
3. Packers (+140)
4. Buccaneers (+137)
5. Bills (+126)
6. Chiefs (+111)— Jonas Shaffer (@jonas_shaffer) January 4, 2021
We haven’t had a team win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots accomplished the feat back in 2004 and 2005. It’s hard to do. Buffalo looks like the primary threat to Kansas City’s reign in the AFC, but the Ravens could be worth a flier at their current long odds. This team is more dangerous than many think.
Taylor Smith
Taylor Smith has been a staff writer with GamblingSites.org since early 2017. Taylor is primarily a sports writer, though he will occasionally dabble in other things like politics and entertainment betting. His primary specialties are writing about the NBA, Major League Baseball, NFL and domestic and international soccer. Fringe sports like golf and horse racing aren’t exactly his cup of tea, bu …