Boris "Bubs" Malloy
We are entering a dark time in humanity. In these low moments, we must look to others for support, because only by working together can we survive the trials ahead. It’s bound to be miserable, but if everyone lends a hand, we can survive yet another NFL offseason.
Seven months without a significant football game starts now, and we here at MTS want to do our part to help the recovery. Currently, only New England Patriots fans are happy, but heading into next season, there’s reason for optimism for almost every team. As for the remaining few, you can just walk around with a defeatist attitude all summer and pretend you don’t even care when your hypothetical team (oh, let’s call them the Jets) starts the season 0-5.
To find out which side your team will be on next year, check out our early odds for the 2017 NFL season.
NFL 2017 Season
Odds to win Super Bowl 52
- New England Patriots: 7/1
- Atlanta Falcons: 10/1
- Dallas Cowboys: 10/1
- Green Bay Packers: 10/1
- Kansas City Chiefs: 12/1
- Oakland Raiders: 12/1
- Seattle Seahawks: 16/1
- New York Giants: 16/1
- Pittsburgh Steelers: 18/1
- Carolina Panthers: 20/1
- Denver Broncos: 20/1
- Baltimore Ravens: 30/1
- Tennessee Titans: 30/1
- Arizona Cardinals: 35/1
- Houston Texans: 35/1
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers: 35/1
- Cincinnati Bengals: 40/1
- Indianapolis Colts: 40/1
- Minnesota Vikings: 40/1
- Washington Redskins: 40/1
- Detroit Lions: 50/1
- Miami Dolphins: 50/1
- New Orleans Saints: 50/1
- Buffalo Bills: 70/1
- Philadelphia Eagles: 70/1
- Jacksonville Jaguars: 80/1
- Los Angeles Chargers: 80/1
- Chicago Bears: 100/1
- Los Angeles Rams: 100/1
- New York Jets: 150/1
- San Francisco 49ers: 200/1
- Cleveland Browns: 250/1
As Denver and Carolina proved last season, returning to the Super Bowl is no easy task. New England will once again be a resounding favorite in the AFC, but just behind them lurk teams like Oakland, Kansas City, and Pittsburgh. And that’s before anyone else in the conference makes a big move this offseason (cough, Tony Romo).
In the NFC, Atlanta’s rocking a young defense that should only continue to get better. But with Kyle Shanahan headed for a long (probably miserable) rebuild in San Francisco, will the offense be able to continue firing at a record clip next season? Even if they are, will they be able to hold off that young Cowboys core, or a hungry Green Bay squad?
Considering some of the huge names due to become free agents this spring (Kirk Cousins, Le’Veon Bell, Eric Berry, Jason Pierre-Paul and so, so many more), the odds are bound to shift come March. But this is a good jumping off point.
Odds to win 2017 NFL MVP
- Aaron Rodgers, Packers: 5/1
- Tom Brady, Patriots: 5/1
- Ezekiel Elliott, Cowboys: 7/1
- Matt Ryan, Falcons: 8/1
- Derek Carr, Raiders: 9/1
- Russell Wilson, Seahawks: 12/1
- Le’Veon Bell, Steelers: 16/1
- Andrew Luck, Colts: 20/1
- Drew Brees, Saints: 30/1
- Dak Prescott, Cowboys: 35/1
Next season could finally be the year Tom Brady looks his age, but I wouldn’t bet on it. He and Aaron Rodgers have sustained a consistent level of excellence for longer than anyone else in the game. While we’ve seen players like Cam Newton and Matt Ryan explode for a season to win the MVP, Rodgers and Brady will always be on the short list.
Odds to be the first coach fired
- Chuck Pagano, Colts: 10/9
- John Fox, Bears: 7/2
- Todd Bowles, Jets: 5/1
- Marvin Lewis, Bengals: 9/1
- Bill O’Brien, Texans: 15/1
With GM Ryan Grigson out in Indianapolis, you can start the countdown clock on Chuck Pagano: if the Colts don’t get off to a better start next season, he’s all but guaranteed to be the first gone. Beyond that, Fox is on the next hottest seat. There’s been no improvement in Chicago during his first two seasons, meaning the team has to make significant strides next year or he’ll be gone.
O/U on when the next Super Bowl to go to OT will be: 2033 (Super Bowl 67)
Let’s face it. While we knew both the Pats and Falcons were going to put up a lot of points in Super Bowl 51, no one would have guessed it would have ended the way it did, with the Pats coming from 25 down to force OT for the first time in Super Bowl history. It only took 51 games for it to happen. Will it take another 51 years before we see it again? It could, but it’ll probably come much sooner, considering that more and more regular season games are being decided in the fifth quarter.
Photo credit: Keith Allison (Flickr)[https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/].
