2015 NFL Season Betting Preview: AFC
Featured image via Brian Spurlock-USA TODAY Sports
The 2015 NFL season starts Thursday, September 10 with the defending Super Bowl XLIX champion New England Patriots hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers, and will conclude with Super Bowl 50 on Sunday, February 7, 2016, at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Ca.
The lines provided are courtesy of 5Dimes. This is the primary sportsbook I use for year-round sports betting. These lines will move as we get closer to opening day, with injuries and team dynamics changing. The AFC is a pile of “who the fuck knows” this year. The only team you can really count on dominating out of the AFC is the Indianapolis Colts. The Patriots, Broncos, Steelers and Ravens all have reasons why this season may not go the way they want.
Before you start reading and get all butthurt, this info is for betting purposes only. I don’t care about your kingdom nation fandom bullshit, and if you’re interested in making money on sports, you shouldn’t either. If you’re looking for some dumb ass homer talking about how great your team is, I’m 100 percent sure there’s a FanSided site with everything you’re looking for.
Value Bets
Cincinnati Bengals to win the AFC North - After an impressive start to the 2014 season, Cincinnati was a bit of a disappointment last year. Vegas has the Ravens as the front-runners out of the AFC North coming into 2015, but Baltimore is a team with significant roster and coaching changes from 2014. With that said, the Ravens are favored for a reason. They are a good fucking football team. What you’re betting with the Bengals is the unknown of the Ravens.
If the loss of Torrey Smith, Haloti Ngata and Matt Elam prove to be too much, this could end up as a battle between the Steelers and Bengals, who hold the two toughest schedules in the league this year. Coming in at 51/20 to win the AFCN, I most certainly will have money on the Bengals. Depending on how the rest of the preseason plays out, as far as injuries, this might be one of my biggest bets of the year.
Indianapolis Colts set to win everything - God dammit I hate the fucking Colts. But with the Seahawks and Packers heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl, Vegas is banking on the NFC. The Colts have nearly the easiest schedule known to man this year, so if they are able to stay healthy going into the playoffs, this could be the year that ugly fucker Andrew Luck does it. Bet the Colts to win the AFC Championship (4/1) and the Super Bowl (19/2) this year. Shit.
San Diego Chargers to win the AFC West - The Broncos might run away with the AFC West, but then again, they might not. A lot of people are down on the Chargers this year and I’m not sure I’m buying into it. I can tell you right now, they aren’t finishing third in the division behind the Chiefs, again. The Kansas City Chiefs seem to be everyone’s “sleeper” this year, but I’m leaning more towards the Chargers to unseat the Donkeys since Manning’s arrival in Denver three years ago. At 22/5 to win the division, it would behoove you to hedge on the Chargers.
Long Shot Bets
I don’t really feel good about any long shot bets out of the AFC this year, but if you’re looking to light a match to some money you probably didn’t deserve in the first place, I’d go with these:
- New England to win Super Bowl (10/1)
- Buffalo to win AFC Championship (20/1) and Super Bowl (55/1)
- Cincinnati to win AFC Championship (15/1) and Super Bowl (73/2)
Fractional odds for the AFC as of 8/25/15
Team |
SB 50 |
AFC |
Div |
| Baltimore | 23/1 | 10/1 | 8/5 |
| Buffalo | 55/1 | 20/1 | 97/20 |
| Cincinnati | 73/2 | 15/1 | 51/20 |
| Cleveland | 200/1 | 55/1 | 45/4 |
| Denver | 15/1 | 26/5 | 4/7 |
| Houston | 57/1 | 20/1 | 4/1 |
| Indianapolis | 19/2 | 4/1 | 10/41 |
| Jacksonville | 400/1 | 95/1 | 49/2 |
| Kansas City | 45/1 | 18/1 | 13/4 |
| Miami | 28/1 | 10/1 | 67/20 |
| New England | 10/1 | 39/10 | 20/33 |
| NY Jets | 80/1 | 35/1 | 12/1 |
| Oakland | 325/1 | 85/1 | 57/2 |
| Pittsburgh | 53/2 | 21/2 | 43/20 |
| San Diego | 50/1 | 15/1 | 22/5 |
| Tennessee | 400/1 | 110/1 | 25/1 |
I plan on having the NFC betting preview up sometime this week, so plan on it happening in 2-weeks or not at all. What are some value bets and long shots you see this year?
