With the New England Patriots having parted ways with Tom Brady, the AFC has reverted to its more wide open ways, and some teams that have not contended in a long time have moved to the fore. The Kansas City Chiefs won their first title in 50 years in Super Bowl LIV and made it back to the title game again, only to fall to Tom Brady once again. Right now, the Buffalo Bills and the Cleveland Browns are ready to take the mantle from the Chiefs; the Browns have not made the playoffs two straight seasons since 1988-89, and the Bills’ time in the sun came just a few years later.
Let’s look at each AFC team’s sports betting odds to win their respective divisions and talk about your best wagering choices.
NFL News: Favorites in Each AFC Division
AFC North
Baltimore Ravens +125
Cleveland Browns +145
Pittsburgh Steelers +400
Cincinnati Bengals +2000
The Baltimore Ravens are flying under the radar this off-season, which is when they’re the most dangerous. They won 14 games in 2019 — and then lost at home in the wild card round. They won 11 games in 2020 — and lost in the divisional round in Buffalo. When they can’t get that early lead, they struggle, but they have beaten Cleveland three times in four games the last two seasons. Pittsburgh swept the Ravens last season, but that won’t happen this season. Has Cleveland grown up enough to move past the Ravens? It’s neck-and-neck in terms of value, so I’m not sure I put a lot of money on either team in this divisional race. The Ravens are the smart pick.
AFC South
Indianapolis Colts +105
Tennessee Titans +110
Jacksonville Jaguars +800
Houston Texans +2800
The Colts’ defense is outstanding, but these odds reflect a lot of optimism about Carson Wentz’s ability to find his confidence at quarterback once again. The Tennessee Titans added Julio Jones to an offense that was already well above average, and they still have Derrick Henry to pound the ball on the ground. Their defense is not as good as the Colts’, but overall they are the stronger team. Again, this is a neck-and-neck race in terms of value, and it might be smart to pick the Titans before they slide into the negative in terms of the moneyline.
AFC East
Buffalo Bills -150
Miami Dolphins +325
New England Patriots +350
New York Jets +2000
This is definitely the Bills’ division to lose. Miami won’t have Ryan Fitzpatrick to come off the bench and win games in which Tua Tagovailoa was struggling. New England has an interesting rookie quarterback in Mac Jones, but the Bills shored up the defense and still have an outstanding offense. The Jets sent Sam Darnold to Carolina, giving him a new chance to start again, and they drafted Zach Wilson, an intriguing arm from BYU. However, their defense is still in tatters. I’m not sure the East even produces a wild card team this year; I’ll be surprised if the Dolphins can get to nine wins.
AFC West
Kansas City Chiefs -335
Denver Broncos +600
Los Angeles Chargers +600
Las Vegas Raiders +1800
Barring an injury to Patrick Mahomes, the AFC West shouldn’t have a lot of suspense this season. I like Justin Herbert to guide the Chargers to a wild card berth, and I’m surprised that the Broncos aren’t closer to the Raiders in this odds list. Of course, if the Broncos trade for Aaron Rodgers, this division gets interesting in a hurry. Kansas City should be able to win this division even if Rodgers comes to Denver, but those games would turn out a lot closer. In Las Vegas, Jon Gruden has not given the Raiders the sort of rebirth that his 10-year, $100 million contract was designed to bring.
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