NFL Odds: Patriots Get No Betting Love; Public All Over Tom Brady, Bucs
Is the public sleeping on the Patriots?
Year 2 of the post-Tom Brady era has to go better for the Patriots ? right?
New England suffered its worst season in ages in 2020. The Patriots stumbled to a 7-9 record, missing the playoffs for the first time since 2008, which coincidentally was the last time they played the majority of a season without Brady under center.
Making matters worse for the Patriots, of course, was Brady went to Tampa Bay and promptly won a Super Bowl in his first season leading the Buccaneers.
And while there's justified hope for improvement this season in Foxboro, the Patriots are a tough sell for sports bettors after years of being chalk. According to FanDuel Sportsbook, the Patriots aren't in the top 10 of either handle or bet count for Super Bowl outright wagers. The Bucs, meanwhile, are the clear-cut choice of the public, with 19 percent of the handle and 10 percent of the overall bet count going on a repeat for Brady and Co.
The Bucs have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl (+650) at FanDuel Sportsbook right now, trailing the Kansas City Chiefs who are a tidy 5-1. The Patriots, for those banking on a bounce-back and looking for value, are 32-1, right in line with teams like the Denver Broncos, Miami Dolphins, New Orleans Saints and Los Angeles Chargers.
Brady also is getting plenty of love in the MVP market. He's currently 12-1 to win the award for the fourth time, and he's the top-bet candidate by handle at FanDuel. The two players behind him? New Los Angeles Rams quarterback Matthew Stafford (17-1) and Buffalo Bills signal-caller Josh Allen (12-1), who finished second to Aaron Rodgers in MVP voting a year ago. Rodgers, meanwhile, actually has the second-shortest odds at 10-1 behind Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes. And that's despite the fact Rodgers' future with the Packers is very much up in the air.
Expected Patriots Week 1 starter Cam Newton is 60-1 to win the MVP, and if you really want to take a shot, rookie QB Mac Jones is 180-1. What a story that would be.
For Jones to win the MVP, though, he'd probably have to beat out Newton in training camp and the preseason. He's +170 to win the job. That would add even more intrigue to a Week 4 matchup at Gillette Stadium when Brady returns for the first time as an opponent. The Bucs opened as 3.5-point road favorites for that contest.
