It’s always fun to predict the future, so today’s post will give you an idea on what to expect from the 2020 NFL playoff contenders and whether they make viable futures bets in 2021. So if you love to bet the over/under, Super Bowl representatives, and champions, this post is worth the read.
We’re covering 13 teams – 8 from the AFC and 5 from the NFC, plus 1 division, the turbulent NFC East since technically at the time of this writing, 3 of the 4 teams can realistically represent the division in the playoffs even if they’re 5-10 and 6-9, respectively.
Ready for the rundown?
Let’s begin.
1 – Kansas City Chiefs – Contender
The Kansas City Chiefs are and have remained a legitimate contender in the futures realm. They won Super Bowl LIV and in 2020, they have shown no signs of slowing down. This is a dangerous football team that will continue to make a proficient futures-bet if the puzzle remains intact.
And as I write this the team is 14-1, meaning that this may not just be the best version of the Kansas City Chiefs; it may be one of the best teams in NFL history. Looking forward to 2021, the Chiefs are among the safest bets.
2 – Buffalo Bills – Contender
The Buffalo Bills clinched their first AFC East title since 1995 and this is a team just now getting hot. Sitting at 11-3, this is the best Buffalo Bills team since the Jim Kelly era and probably the best since Kelly led the team to 4 straight Super Bowls from 1990 to 1993.
And with a young quarterback forged into a solid identity on both sides of the ball, it’s a surefire bet the Bills will remain in contention for the AFC East and to represent the AFC in the Super Bowl for years to come.
3 – Pittsburgh Steelers – Pretender
The Steelers started the 2020 season at 11-0 before skidding to 11-3. They clinched the AFC North after a comeback win against a solid Indianapolis Colts team. But the problem with the Steelers rests on offense. They have no running game and a quarterback whose better days are long gone.
Even if Ben Roethlisberger returns for an 18th season, his recent playing style is threatening to go the same way as the great Peyton Manning’s during the latter’s twilight years. And while Manning and the Broncos won the Super Bowl that year, he had a viable reliever in Brock Osweiler.
Plus he had a better-than-average running game. Ben has neither of these things. So unless things change in the offseason, change is coming to the Pittsburgh Steelers.
4 – Tennessee Titans – Contender
The Titans are so…so New England Patriots-like it’s not even funny. No, let’s not get ahead of ourselves and say Mike Vrabel is the next Bill Belichick. But Vrabel finds football players who fit his system and he doesn’t care where their last stop was in life.
And even with a mediocre talent in Ryan Tannehill plus obscure names at receiver and on defense, the Tennessee Titans just go out and win football games.
They’re not the safest futures bet, but they’ve proven they can threaten to win the division, surpass the over/under, and even threaten for the Super Bowl.
5 – Miami Dolphins – Contender
The Miami Dolphins have employed a timeshare at quarterback. Something that rarely works but so far it’s worked down in Miami, with Ryan Fitzpatrick playing the closer role to an up and down Tua Tagovailoa.
Often, disciples of Bill Belichick flame out in the NFL, but head coach Brian Flores looks like an outlier, having the Dolphins in prime position to make the playoffs. Something they haven’t done often since Dan Marino retired.
If the rebuild that started in 2019 continues, this team will remain hot for the next decade.
6 – Baltimore Ravens – Pretender
I so wanted to put the Baltimore Ravens at contender, but until they prove they can beat teams even remotely close to their talent level, they’re a pretender. Sure, they’ll threaten to win the AFC North and they’re a solid bet to surpass their projected over/under win total.
Other than that, this team can’t even win a playoff game. Maybe they’ll prove otherwise this January? Until then, steer clear of the Ravens.
7 – Cleveland Browns – Contender
2020 has been a strange year and nothing is stranger than putting the Cleveland Browns in contention for something other than a top five pick in the NFL Draft. But here we go, with the Cleveland Browns threatening a playoff berth for the first time since 2002.
While the Browns may not go anywhere in the playoffs, they finally have the correct system in place with a coach whose philosophy is in lieu with that system. The Browns have forged an identity, and that should tell you they may actually go somewhere other than the AFC North’s cellar for a while.
8 – Indianapolis Colts – Pretender
The Indianapolis Colts have a solid defense, a good running game, and a coach who has proven he can take his team to the playoffs and help them overachieve.
The problem is Philip Rivers and the receiving unit. Given Rivers’ status as a game manager, he’s no better than backup quarterback Jacoby Brissett, who’d probably do some damage to opponents if he had viable options in the passing game.
Until the Colts fix their quarterback and receiver woes, they’re nothing more than a glorified over/under bet.
9 – Green Bay Packers – Contender
Many of us felt the Minnesota Vikings and Chicago Bears would be sitting here at this point, but as always, it’s foolish to bet against Aaron Rodgers.
Now read the last part of that sentence again and memorize it in the same way you memorize the two rules of customer service: The customer is always right, and remember that the customer is always right.
It’s foolish to bet against Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers, and remember that it is foolish to bet against Aaron Rodgers. So until Rodgers goes anywhere, the Packers remain in contention and they remain a solid futures bet. And if Jordan Love is the NFL’s next Jimmy Garoppolo, don’t be surprised.
10 – New Orleans Saints – Pretender
Unlike Rodgers and the Packers, quarterback Drew Brees has shown signs of decline and his top target in Michael Thomas has since shown some very Antonio Brown-like characteristics.
While Brees will be 42 in January and therefore, hitting the road to retirement, Thomas is another story. He has been in fights with teammates in practice, has had a few social media wars, and has been flagged a few times for his celebration antics. Plus, 2020 may indicate injury-proneness.
The New Orleans Saints, after a 10-2 start, hit a rough patch and while they are still among the best in the NFC for 2020, this ship may start to sink and one of the NFL’s most successful stories since 2006 may fall back into the obscurity that plagued them from 1967 to 2005, when fans wore paper bags over their heads.
11 – Seattle Seahawks – Contender
As with Aaron Rodgers, it’s foolish to bet against Russell Wilson. Wilson will prove you wrong almost every single time and a lot of experts counted the Seattle Seahawks out in 2020.
If you placed a futures bet on the Seahawks this season, kudos, you beat the experts. And while the NFC West isn’t getting any easier, the Seahawks are the least volatile team in the division. They remain the safest bet.
12 – Arizona Cardinals – Neutral
Perhaps no other team in the NFL has been more up or down than the Arizona Cardinals. For a while, they looked like they’d win the NFC West. They’ve since fallen back to Earth.
So why the neutral rating?
Much of their future hinges on what happens in the off-season. Did head coach Kliff Kingsbury do enough to stick around despite questionable play calling? Ditto for defensive coordinator Vance Joseph.
Is Kyler Murray a franchise quarterback or is he another scrambler who will start to flame out?
There are so many questions regarding the Cardinals that they are perhaps the ultimate high risk/high reward bet for 2021.
13 – Los Angeles Rams – Neutral
The Rams, like the Cardinals, also received a neutral rating. Perhaps there is no team in the NFL lacking an identity.
The Rams have talent all over the field but here they are in 2020 fighting for their playoff lives. The same thing happened in 2019 and you can bet 2021 will bring yet another roller coaster.
So who are the Los Angeles Rams?
Like the Cardinals, they’re neither contenders nor pretenders. They can go either way here. If you like to bet on the edge, feel free. If not, steer clear.
14 – NFC East – Neutral
You can’t just name any one team because the NFC East has been arguably the worst division in football since the Super Bowl era began. Washington is in absolute turmoil at quarterback. Dallas was in turmoil but there they are in Week 17, threatening the playoffs.
The Giants can actually win the division at 6-10 if the cards fall right. And the Eagles were in it until Week 16, even at 4-10-1.
Looking forward to 2021, who are the contenders and who are the pretenders?
The Giants will be in Year 2 of the Joe Judge era and they’ll be back at full strength with offensive centerpiece Saquon Barkley back.
The Cowboys will have franchise quarterback Dak Prescott back in action and if Prescott stayed healthy this season, perhaps the Cowboys would have wrapped up the division a month ago.
You can argue that the Eagles have more stability in terms of coaching, but who’s the quarterback going into 2021?
Then there’s Washington, who looks like they’re a quarterback away from making serious noise not just in the division, but in the NFL.
Conclusion
Of course, a lot will happen between the conclusion of the 2020 season and the beginning of 2021, and a pretender here can contend and vice versa. Also, a team who didn’t contend in 2020 could take the league by surprise.
Who are your favorite futures bets for 2021? Do you think any pretenders should be contenders? Should any contenders become pretenders?
Let us know in the comments and tell us who your futures bet or bets are for 2021.
Michael Stevens
Michael Stevens has been researching and writing topics involving the gambling industry for well over a decade now and is considered an expert on all things casino and sports betting. Michael has been writing for GamblingSites.org since early 2016. …
