Gronkowski Brothers: AFC Betting Picks

It’s a well known stat, but its shocking every time you look at it. In the last 17 Super Bowls, the AFC team has been quarterbacked by Tom Brady, Ben Roethlisburger or Payton Manning every time expect twice (Rich Gannon for Oakland in 2003 and Joe Flacco for Baltimore in 2013). But what about some AFC division picks? Let’s start with the easy one, the AFC champions and then work through the divisions.

AFC Champions

In a recent Q&A with Get More Sports, Chris and Glenn Gronkowski gave their picks for the AFC champion and both said the Patriots.

“I have to go with the easy pick and take the Patriots,” Glenn said.

Chris had a similar response.

“They have veteran leadership and a coach that can win,” Chris said. “It’ll be hard to pick any other team to win the AFC until Brady retires.”

I can’t argue with that, the Patriots have been the class of the AFC. They’ve gone to the Super Bowl three of the last four years and eight times overall since Brady took over at quarterback.

AFC Division Picks

In the same Q&A, the Gronk brothers gave their AFC Division Picks.

• How to bet on NFL Divisions

Chris went with Patriots, obviously, the Los Angeles Chargers, Pittsburgh Steelers and Houston Texans. Glenn’s picks nearly mirrored his brothers, with the difference coming in the AFC South as he took the Jacksonville Jaguars.

While the Patriots are head and shoulders above the rest of the AFC and the Steelers still look to be the class of the North, the West and South Divisions look to be tight races.

• AFC Division and Conference Betting Odds

In the West, the Chargers (+175) went 9-7 last season, but after an 0-4 start Los Angeles went 9-3 the rest of the way — including winning six of its last seven games.

Kansas City (+275) will start Patrick Mahomes at quarterback, so the Chiefs have a question mark under center, but that could turn into an exclamation point by the end of the year.

If Case Keenum brings his Minnesota magic to the Mile High, Denver (+400) could be back with a defense that looks to be one of the best in the league with Von Miller and rookie Bradley Chubb bringing the heat on quarterbacks.

Then you have the Oakland Raiders (+275), a Super Bowl pick not to long ago before Derek Carr got injured and ruined the season. With Jon Gruden back on the sidelines, perhaps he can light a fire again in Oakland.

The AFC West is the most balanced division and is a true toss up between all four teams.

In the AFC South, Jacksonville (+185) surprised teams last year as did the Texans (+170) when they had Deshaun Watson healthy.

This is the only division the Gronks differed on and for good reason, the odds makers don’t even agree on who should be the favorite.

If Andrew Luck is healthy, and all signs say that he is, you can’t sleep on Indianapolis (+550). Then you have the Tennessee Titans (+333) — if Marcus Mariotta progresses going into this season, watch out of the Titans.

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AFC Picks

East — New England (-700)

North — Pittsburgh (-280)

South — Houston (+170)

West — Denver (+400)

First, the easy picks. The Patriots are a no brainer and don’t fool yourself into thinking Cleveland is going to go from no wins to a division title over night. Baltimore could be good, as could Cincinnati, but the Steelers are still top dog until proven otherwise.

Houston and Jacksonville both have great defenses, but with Watson healthy I believe in the Texans as the best of the South. Don’t be surprised though to see multiple teams in the playoffs from this division.

Now the one that will draw questions, the Broncos.

This is a team that’s defense led them to a Super Bowl win in 2016 and that dominant defense could wreak havoc once again. Look for Bradley Chubb to free up Von Miller and for the Broncos defense to return to its old self.

Denver also has a good receiving corps with Demaryius Thomas and Emmanuel Sanders and don’t forget about tight end Jake Butt who missed all of his rookie season with an injured he suffered while playing in a bowl game at Michigan. He was a problem for defenses in college and he can be in the pros as well.

What’s different is the Broncos have Keenum who is hungry to prove his 2017-’18 with the Vikings was no fluke and while it’s only one preseason game, Royce Freeman could be a solid running back.

At +400, Denver is a true sleeper pick.