The Carolina Panthers and Arizona Cardinals have been far and away the class of the NFC for the first three months of the NFL regular season. The two are rightly positioned as the top favorites to claim the conference crown, but some of the traditional NFC powers still can’t be counted out.
Let’s take a look at the NFC landscape and check out the odds for the favorites, sleepers and long shot to represent the conference in Santa Clara. Meanwhile, check out our breakdown of the AFC championship odds and the Super Bowl 50 odds.
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2016 NFC Championship Futures
Favorites
Carolina Panthers
[sc:NFL240banner ]The one flaw the perfect Panthers seemingly still had was in the passing game. Well, Cam Newton has thrown five touchdown passes in two of his last three games, which makes Carolina the most complete team in the conference. And with a first-round bye and homefield advantage very much in sight, the Panthers’ price of +200 to win the NFC is probably still a bit generous.
Arizona Cardinals
Apart from two pretty fluky losses to the Rams and a Landry Jones-led Steelers team, there have been hardly any faults in the Cardinals’ game this season. Their weapons on offense, even with injuries to their top two running backs, are overflowing, while the defense is also one of the best in the league.
The Cards are +240 to win the NFC, but an argument could be made that they’re every bit as good as the unbeaten Panthers.
Seattle Seahawks
The Seahawks have found a second wind this season with the help of a resurgent offense. Russell Wilson and co. have been putting a lot points up in recent weeks, which has made up for the defense’s slip from elite to just very good. Even with the likely absence of homefield advantage this time around, the Seahawks at +400 to win a third-straight NFC crown still sounds pretty enticing.
Sleepers
Green Bay Packers
The Packers have not looked anywhere near Super Bowl-caliber contenders for a good month and a half now. However, it’s probably not a good idea to count Aaron Rodgers out of any championship conversation. Remember, this was a guy who almost brought his team to the Super Bowl with a badly injured calf last season. Taking a flyer on them as a +450 sleeper certainly isn’t all that silly.
New York Giants
Despite a heart-breaking overtime loss to the Jets on Sunday, the 5-7 Giants can still host a playoff game in a couple weeks’ time. The Eli Manning-Odell Beckham Jr. combination is as explosive as any in the league, while the pass rush has found new life with the return of Jason Pierre-Paul.
Is it that inconceivable to think the Giants can make another run at the NFC in 2015 after winning it in ’11 and ‘07? At +1,500, it’s sure worth a shot.
Long Shot
Minnesota Vikings
The Vikings are a pretty limited and predictable team. They basically need Adrian Peterson to carry them to victory. If he doesn’t have a big game, like what happened in their recent losses to the Packers and Seahawks, they probably won’t win.
Nevertheless, the possibility of Peterson coming up with a string of terrific performances in the playoffs is enough to consider the Vikings as +2,000 long shots to reach the Super Bowl.
