19 ridiculous bets you can make on the 2014 NFL season | KSDK.com
19 ridiculous bets you can make on the 2014 NFL season
Chris Chase , KSDK 4:20 PM. CDT September 04, 2014
Place your bets! (Photo: Pictures: Getty Images Sport, USA TODAY Sports, and AP Graphics)
No surprise there. It's been 12 years since New England lost the AFC East with a healthy Tom Brady, while Peyton Manning has won his division 10 of his last 11 seasons.
3. No one knows who's going to win the AFC North.
A straight-favorite play for the eight division winners is: Eagles, Packers, Saints, Seahawks, Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Broncos. But since all favorites never win, you can search the board for eight-team octfectas (that's a word, right?) that range all the way up to 1000/1. (There are a number of combinations at those odds, most of which have the Redskins winning the NFC East. One example: Redskins, Bears, Seahawks, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Broncos.)
The NFC West's two Super Bowl contenders are enough to make that division a favorite to win it all. The AFC West, with just one theoretical contender (unless you count San Diego or Kansas City, which we do not), is next at 7/2. Bringing up the rear is the NFC East, AFC South and AFC North at 9/1. Bovada reports that just 0.7% of action in this category has gone to teams from the AFC North. On one hand, this isn't a shock: Neither Cincinnati, Pittsburgh nor Baltimore is expected to go far this year. On the other hand, the AFC North is the only division with two different Super Bowl winners in the past decade.
8. Jacksonville (7/2) and Oakland (7/2) are "favored" to have the worst record in the NFL.
But if you're looking for value and the entertainment factor necessary to make such a frivolous wager, the New York Jets (20/1) and New York Giants (25/1) are gold. Denver, New England and Seattle have the worst odds in this category at 200/1.
This just seems mean and macabre and pretty silly because Jerry Jones has only fired a coach midseason once (Garrett's successor, Wade Phillips) and that was mostly because he had his hand-picked successor (Garrett) already on the coaching staff. Other favorites to get the early axe: Dennis Allen (9/2), Joe Philbin (5/1), Doug Marrone (8/1) and Rex Ryan (10/1). Mike Tomlin is at 33/1, which is preposterous given that he's won a Super Bowl and the Pittsburgh Steelers haven't fired a coach since Lyndon Johnson was president.
More conventional candidates include Aaron Rodgers (5/1), Robert Griffin III (7/1) and Rob Gronkowski (7/1). If Aaron Rodgers wins, the award should just be renamed "Best player who got injured last year." There are "comebacks" and then there's just "healing."
Interestingly, Vegas thinks Johnny Football won't be fined this year. Did they not get Browns' preseason games out in the desert? Have they not factored in how angry Manziel is going to get if/when he gets sacked for the fourth time in a game and a defender dances over him making the "money Manziel" sign for the fourth time? A "yes" goes for 2/1, while a "no" brings in 1/3.
13. Odds are that Jason Garrett won't be Dallas Cowboys coach for Week 1 of the 2015 season.
There are 3/2 odds that he will be and 1/2 odds that he won't be. Come on. That's just piling on, Vegas.
14. When will Peyton Manning break Brett Favre's career touchdown record?
The "yes" bet is at (3/1), which is low given that Eli has done this just once in his career (last year, but still). A more fun bet would ask "when will Eli Manning break Brett Favre's career interception record?" Eli is currently 165 INTs behind the ol' gunslinger, so I'd put the over/under at week 7.5, just like with Peyton.
16. The odds of Seattle winning a playoff game aren't as good as you'd think.
It's an even bet that Seattle will win a postseason game, but a -140 bet that the Seahawks won't. That's an implied probability of 58.3%. There's some overlap with the "yes" bet in that percentage because that's the way the house always wins. Still, it's a little surprising, no?
Speaking of things less likely than a team going undefeated — there's a better chance of Johnny Manziel walking on the moon in 2014 than there is of him winning Rookie of the Year and making the playoffs. Yet, somehow, the odds of his ROY/playoff combo are better than the very-realistic possibility of Peyton repeating his 2013 season, albeit without the 43-8 Super Bowl loss. It's maddening. It's wonderful. It's football and it's back. What a glorious day.
19 ridiculous bets you can make on the 2014 NFL season | KSDK.com
19 ridiculous bets you can make on the 2014 NFL season
Chris Chase , KSDK 4:20 PM. CDT September 04, 2014
Place your bets! (Photo: Pictures: Getty Images Sport, USA TODAY Sports, and AP Graphics)
No surprise there. It's been 12 years since New England lost the AFC East with a healthy Tom Brady, while Peyton Manning has won his division 10 of his last 11 seasons.
3. No one knows who's going to win the AFC North.
A straight-favorite play for the eight division winners is: Eagles, Packers, Saints, Seahawks, Patriots, Bengals, Colts, Broncos. But since all favorites never win, you can search the board for eight-team octfectas (that's a word, right?) that range all the way up to 1000/1. (There are a number of combinations at those odds, most of which have the Redskins winning the NFC East. One example: Redskins, Bears, Seahawks, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens, Colts, Broncos.)
The NFC West's two Super Bowl contenders are enough to make that division a favorite to win it all. The AFC West, with just one theoretical contender (unless you count San Diego or Kansas City, which we do not), is next at 7/2. Bringing up the rear is the NFC East, AFC South and AFC North at 9/1. Bovada reports that just 0.7% of action in this category has gone to teams from the AFC North. On one hand, this isn't a shock: Neither Cincinnati, Pittsburgh nor Baltimore is expected to go far this year. On the other hand, the AFC North is the only division with two different Super Bowl winners in the past decade.
8. Jacksonville (7/2) and Oakland (7/2) are "favored" to have the worst record in the NFL.
But if you're looking for value and the entertainment factor necessary to make such a frivolous wager, the New York Jets (20/1) and New York Giants (25/1) are gold. Denver, New England and Seattle have the worst odds in this category at 200/1.
This just seems mean and macabre and pretty silly because Jerry Jones has only fired a coach midseason once (Garrett's successor, Wade Phillips) and that was mostly because he had his hand-picked successor (Garrett) already on the coaching staff. Other favorites to get the early axe: Dennis Allen (9/2), Joe Philbin (5/1), Doug Marrone (8/1) 
and Rex Ryan (10/1). Mike Tomlin is at 33/1, which is preposterous given that he's won a Super Bowl and the Pittsburgh Steelers haven't fired a coach since Lyndon Johnson was president.
More conventional candidates include Aaron Rodgers (5/1), Robert Griffin III (7/1) and Rob Gronkowski (7/1). If Aaron Rodgers wins, the award should just be renamed "Best player who got injured last year." There are "comebacks" and then there's just "healing."
Interestingly, Vegas thinks Johnny Football won't be fined this year. Did they not get Browns' preseason games out in the desert? Have they not factored in how angry Manziel is going to get if/when he gets sacked for the fourth time in a game and a defender dances over him making the "money Manziel" sign for the fourth time? A "yes" goes for 2/1, while a "no" brings in 1/3.
13. Odds are that Jason Garrett won't be Dallas Cowboys coach for Week 1 of the 2015 season.
There are 3/2 odds that he will be and 1/2 odds that he won't be. Come on. That's just piling on, Vegas.
14. When will Peyton Manning break Brett Favre's career touchdown record?
The "yes" bet is at (3/1), which is low given that Eli has done this just once in his career (last year, but still). A more fun bet would ask "when will Eli Manning break Brett Favre's career interception record?" Eli is currently 165 INTs behind the ol' gunslinger, so I'd put the over/under at week 7.5, just like with Peyton.
16. The odds of Seattle winning a playoff game aren't as good as you'd think.
It's an even bet that Seattle will win a postseason game, but a -140 bet that the Seahawks won't. That's an implied probability of 58.3%. There's some overlap with the "yes" bet in that percentage because that's the way the house always wins. Still, it's a little surprising, no?
Speaking of things less likely than a team going undefeated — there's a better chance of Johnny Manziel walking on the moon in 2014 than there is of him winning Rookie of the Year and making the playoffs. Yet, somehow, the odds of his ROY/playoff combo are better than the very-realistic possibility of Peyton repeating his 2013 season, albeit without the 43-8 Super Bowl loss. It's maddening. It's wonderful. It's football and it's back. What a glorious day.