Patriots, Seahawks Favored to Square Off in Super Bowl Again in 2017

Based on the latest NFL conference odds at the sportsbooks, the New England Patriots and Seattle Seahawks are favored to meet in the Super Bowl for the second time in three years.

The Patriots are +275 favorites (bet $100 to win $275) to win the AFC for the third time in six years while the Seahawks are +450 to win the NFC for the third time in four, setting up a potential rematch of Super Bowl XLIX.

New England will be without quarterback Tom Brady for the first four games of the regular season, and Seattle probably wishes he would have missed the last postseason meeting due to the Deflategate scandal that happened that year. Brady went on to win MVP honors in the 28-24 victory, leading his team back from a 10-point deficit with two touchdown passes in the fourth quarter.

Backup Jimmy Garoppolo will take over for Brady while Seattle is dealing with the retirement of running back Marshawn Lynch, who many believe should have gotten the ball at the goal line in the Super Bowl loss.

The Seahawks are expected to have more competition in the NFC though with a lot more teams capable of getting to the Super Bowl than in the AFC. The Green Bay Packers are the +475 second choice behind Seattle and actually ahead of the Seahawks to win the Super Bowl at +850 compared to +900. Green Bay quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have top target Jordy Nelson back from a torn ACL, giving the team one of the most dangerous offenses in the league if completely healthy.

Other teams that might be worth wagering on to win the NFC this year include the defending conference champion Carolina Panthers (+600), the Arizona Cardinals (+600), the Minnesota Vikings (+800) and the Dallas Cowboys (+900).

The Panthers routed the Cardinals 49-15 in last year’s NFC Championship Game before losing to the Denver Broncos 24-10 in the Super Bowl. The Vikings beat out the Packers for the NFC North title last season, and the Cowboys are hoping quarterback Tony Romo can stay healthy and rookie running back Ezekiel Elliott will live up to his heavily-hyped potential.

In the AFC, the Broncos will obviously not be the same without future Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who retired in the offseason after winning his second Super Bowl. Denver is tied for the third choice to win the conference with the Cincinnati Bengals at +800 behind the Pats and Pittsburgh Steelers, who are listed at +550.

The Bengals and Steelers met in the Wild Card round of last year’s playoffs, with the former falling 18-16 to extend their postseason losing streak to eight games dating back to 1990.

Pittsburgh might be the most intriguing team of all considering the amount of talent on the offensive side of the ball. Running back Le’Veon Bell and wide receiver Antonio Brown are arguably the best players at their respective positions, which could help quarterback Ben Roethlisberger get to his fourth Super Bowl this season.