NFL Playoff Race Is Heating Up: Futures Bets to Target

We’ve already seen it plenty of times, but from now until the end of the regular season, we will see the NFL playoff picture graphic posted on the screen during games. Some fans will see their team firmly in a playoff spot, while others will see their team in the “In the Hunt” section and start picturing scenarios in which they can sneak into the postseason.

Whether your team has locked up a chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy or is still in the hunt, I’ll break down which playoff future bets you should be making as we head down the final stretch of the regular season.

The Yes Category

Denver Broncos To Make Playoffs (+130): Things were looking grim for the Denver Broncos in their first season with Sean Payton running the show, but they have since turned things around. Over their last seven games, the Broncos are 6-1, and their defense has not allowed more than 22 points in a game since week five. With four games remaining, Denver only plays one team with a winning record the rest of the way, and that team happens to be the struggling Detroit Lions. 

Beating the Lions would likely cause a drastic shift in the Broncos odds, especially with how the Steelers and Colts are playing, so the time is now to ride with Broncos country.

Los Angeles Rams To Make Playoffs (+160): The Rams may be coming off a loss, but with the way Matthew Stafford and this offense are playing, this price seems like a steal. By scoring 30+ points in three straight games, Los Angeles now ranks 9th in the league in offensive DVOA, so they are finding their groove on offense, while the Vikings, who own a playoff spot right now, are moving onto their fourth starting quarterback of the season.

Minnesota looked far from a playoff team last weekend, so Los Angeles has the chance to make a big move over the next three weeks with three winnable games. The Rams will play their next two games at home against the Commanders and Saints before heading on the road to play the Giants. This means they can play two bottom-ten defenses in terms of DVOA and a struggling Saints team before ending their season against the 49ers, who likely will be resting players in the last regular season game.

The No Category

Indianapolis Colts To Miss Playoffs (-120): Coming off a loss to the Bengals without Joe Burrow, the Indianapolis Colts will need to play near perfect the rest of the season to maintain the final playoff spot they currently hold. Picking up a win over the Steelers in week 15 would certainly help their chances, but they have a lot of teams nipping at their heels, like the Buffalo Bills, Houston Texans, and Denver Broncos. With their defense posting back-to-back weeks with a negative EPA, the Colts could very well be playing themselves out of a spot.

Minnesota Vikings To Miss Playoffs (+142): It’s been a season filled with ups and downs for the Vikings, but it seems like they are entering a low point at the worst time. After Josh Dobbs seemingly lost his magic over the past two weeks, the Vikings will turn to Nick Mullens for the rest of the season. Heading into a playoff race with your 4th starter is not ideal, but to make matters worse, Justin Jefferson’s health status is still up in the air.

Over their last four games, Minnesota will have to play a scrappy Bengals team on the road, the Packers, and the first-place Lions twice. This is not the schedule you want to have with the Packers already breathing down your neck and a team like the Rams waiting to move into a spot. Getting this price on most sports betting apps in Virginia is too good to pass up, with all the factors working against them.

What to do With the NFC South?

As you can see, there are a few non-division leaders that are missing from this list that are still fighting for a playoff spot. The reason for that is they either have a bad price at the moment, or they’re in the NFC South division. The divisional race in the NFC South is one of the ugliest I’ve seen in recent memory, with the Buccaneers, Saints, and the Falcons all possessing 6-7 records.

All three teams currently have plus-money odds to make the postseason, and quite frankly, I think this division is so unpredictable that it’s not worth making a wager on. These teams will have to win the division to make the playoffs, so with the Wild Card out of the picture, it will come down to which team can scratch out the most wins down the stretch. With all three teams ranked 19th or worse in offensive DVOA, this is one of those divisions that doesn’t seem worth putting money on when there are other viable options on the board.