Two of the last three NFC Super Bowl representatives came from the NFC South and it was two different teams in consecutive years. Fast forward to the last postseason and three of the four made the playoffs, with the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints both making it to the divisional round.
There’s no reason to believe something like that won’t happen again this season. The oddsmakers at BetDSI Sportsbook released numbers that reflect that competitiveness. Here, take a look.
NFC South 2018 Odds
Atlanta Falcons +170
New Orleans Saints +185
Carolina Panthers +275
Tampa Bay Buccaneers +500
There’s a beauty in an odds pattern like that. First off, if you just tossed a dart and picked one, you’ve got a 25 percent chance of pocketing some cash. And if you eliminate the Tampa Bay Buccaneers right off the bat, you’ve got a 1-in-3 shot at a fuller wallet.
Why eliminate the Buccaneers, you may ask if you’re this person I just manufactured in my imagination? You, this fake human being, who is sitting at your computer in your No. 8 jersey, dip of Copenhagen poking out of the corner of your mouth. You, the myopic slobbering moron that I drew forth from the bowels of my subconsciousness, who must adjust your Atlanta Braves hat in disgust upon reading that I have dismissed your precious Bucs from NFC South. You, this straw man stooge I have wholly invented as I type this, knock the pet sugar glider from your lap accidentally as you angrily slide back the lawn chair you use at your computer desk. Stomping around your living room, you, the preposterous homunculus lummox I have constructed Frankenstein-like from Trump tweets and Cops reruns, accidentally clip the bottom of a stolen Walmart shopping cart you use as a coffee table and sometimes outdoor grill, and fall, face first, into your reptile constrictor terrarium. You, this absurd, cartoonish simpleton I have whimsically forged from the ether, crash through the glass panel side and allow Angelina, your beloved Rainbow Boa, to slither out of the room and into the dust-covered yard through the broken screen door, scaring the shit out of the Bobcat you found and tamed as a baby. His name is Topher.
Well, I answer back through my own computer screen that for some reason you, this meth-addled. mouth breathing buffoon I have fabricated fully from the firmament of my mind’s eye, can hear audibly. Tampa Bay is still coached by Dirk Koetter there’s no way that team is doing better than 9-7. No NFC team is taking a division without at least 10 victories. Also, you should really find that sugar glider before Angelina or Topher do.
It’s odd to me that the Panthers are a full 100 points behind the Falcons on this list, because I think they both have a better shot at winning the South than the Saints. And that’s acknowledging the fact that New Orleans won it last year.
Atlanta shook off what should have been the hangover of all post Super Bowl hangovers and still managed to win 10 games and win their first playoff game. I agree with the oddsmakers that they’re the favorite and likely the safest bet.
Still, it’s difficult to pass over that +275 on the Panthers without staring really hard at it. So, you want to be safe, go with the Falcons. If you want to be bold, pick the Panthers.
