NFL Betting Futures: AFC Championship Odds Update

According to the oddsmakers there are only three legitimate contenders for the AFC championship crown right now. Guessing who they are shouldn’t be too hard either.

The favorite on the AFC championship futures is of course the New England Patriots at +150. Since starting the season 2-2 the Patriots have posted four straight wins to occupy their usual spot atop the AFC East division. Heading into their bye this week the Patriots appear ready and able to extend that streak with upcoming back-to-back road games against two struggling teams, the Denver Broncos and the Oakland Raiders.

Following the Patriots on the AFC championship futures are the Pittsburgh Steelers at +350. The Steelers have also righted the ship with three straight wins after a 3-2 start to the season.

In Pittsburgh the trio of Ben Roethlisberger, Le’Veon Bell and Antonio Brown draw most of the headlines, but Pittsburgh’s offense is only ranked 12th in the league right now. The Steelers defense should be drawing more accolades as the No. 2 ranked scoring unit in the league and the No. 4 ranked unit overall.

The other contender according to the oddsmakers are the Kansas City Chiefs at +400. Remember when the Chiefs were the last undefeated team in the NFL? Two straight losses to Pittsburgh and Oakland took away some of their shine, but they rebounded last week with a win over Denver.

After the top three on the AFC futures there is a steep decline with the Jacksonville Jaguars and Tennessee Titans next in line at +1800. Both teams have a shot at the playoffs in the lackluster AFC South. They have shown promise at times this year with Tennessee upsetting Seattle and Jacksonville taking down Pittsburgh, but neither appears to have the consistency to make it all the way to the Super Bowl.

After the top five teams were the Houston Texans and Buffalo Bills, both at +2000. However, the Texans’ futures will take a hit on the news that rookie quarterback Deshaun Watson has been lost for the season with a torn ACL. Believe it or not the Texans had the top-scoring offense in the NFL behind Watson.

It’s difficult to know what to make of the Bills. With four wins in their last five games the Bills are challenging the Patriots in the AFC East and appear bound for a wild card spot at least if they can keep winning. Throw in the addition of wide receiver Kelvin Benjamin and the Bills have the look of a burgeoning contender.

The fact that Buffalo hasn’t made the playoffs in over 15 years causes everyone to be suspicious of them, but if they may have finally figured it out they could be an upset special down the line.