Super Bowl 56 odds: Cardinals power through adversity while Titans lay an egg

Good luck figuring out the 2021 NFL season. Every week, a team that looks like a Super Bowl contender decides to falter. Maybe this is what happens in a league where parity is achieved at a much higher rate than other sports. It’s truly anybody’s guess who will end up meeting for the NFL championship at SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.

This, of course, is a great thing for bettors. You can make a case for or against number of teams, which means oddsmakers are going to have a tough time assigning values. There’s no clear cut favorite, even as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are leading the way at +600, according to DraftKings Sportsbook.

The Arizona Cardinals faltered last week but are now 2-1 without Kyler Murray heading into the bye week. Arizona was able to stifle a desperate Seattle Seahawks team in Seattle with backups, cementing the Cardinals as a threat in the NFC. Murray and DeAndre Hopkins should be back after the bye week.

Remember when everyone thought the Chiefs were done? Kansas City is now +750 to win the Super Bowl as Patrick Mahomes and company have started to figure things out offensively. The Chiefs are also making enough plays defensively, and shut down a Dallas Cowboys team many believed was ready to break through in the postseason. The Cowboys sit at +800 and might have to play on Thanksgiving without their top two receivers.

The Green Bay Packers (+1000) looked like a safe bet with Aaron Rodgers at the helm before the team’s championship-caliber defense completely folded against the Minnesota Vikings (+4000). Kirk Cousins, Dalvin Cook and Justin Jefferson tore Green Bay apart, especially on the final drive. And yet that wasn’t the biggest surprise of Week 11.

The Tennessee Titans, coming off wins over the Rams and Saints without Derrick Henry, sat at +1200 heading into Week 11. They lost to the lowly Houston Texans, with Ryan Tannehill throwing four interceptions in the 22-13 defeat. The Titans now sit at +2000 to win it all.

As all this chaos unfolds, Bill Belichick and the New England Patriots are sitting pretty atop the AFC East at 7-4. The Patriots are +1400 to win the title and look like the most complete team in the league at the moment. They’ll play the Titans next week and the Bills after that, so +1400 might be the best value for potential bettors. The only certainty in the NFL this season is that no team is safe, so be ready for New England to deliver a suspect performance sooner or later.

Here’s a look at full Super Bowl odds heading towards Week 12.

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