On the heels of their ninth consecutive win, the Arizona Cardinals are now the Super Bowl 50 co-favorites, per futures odds released by the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook on Tuesday.
The Cardinals (13-2) thumped Green Bay, 38-8, on Sunday, clinching a first-round bye in the process. They wrapped up the NFC West the previous week with a 40-17 blowout of Philadelphia. They’re listed at 3-1 odds by Westgate, the same as New England, which improved from 7-2 odds despite an overtime loss to the Jets.
Arizona opened the season as a 30-1 longshot, behind 10 other teams with better odds and even with three others. Their odds have improved more or less steadily since then, and they are now the favorite in the NFC, ahead of Carolina, which is listed at 9-2 after sustaining its first loss of the season on Sunday.
Arizona, which last lost on Oct. 18 to Pittsburgh, needs a win and a Carolina loss this weekend to clinch home-field advantage throughout the playoffs.
The Cardinals franchise, which was founded in Chicago and played in St. Louis before moving to Phoenix in 1988, has never won a Super Bowl and won its only NFC Championship in 2008. They were beaten 27-23 by the Steelers in the Super Bowl that year.
Also on the rise: Kansas City. The Chiefs were at 200-1 in late October before embarking on their own nine-game winning streak, which they’ll carry into Week 17. They’re currently getting 25-1 odds and depending on this weekend’s results, could enter the playoffs as the No. 3, 5 or 6 seed. They need a win and a Denver loss to clinch the AFC West.
Feeling lucky? The Colts are far and away the biggest longshot on the board, currently listed at 9,999-1 by Westgate. They’ll need an awful lot of things to go their way to find their way into the playoffs this weekend.
NFL can figure out the 9-game parlay the Colts need to make the playoffs but not whether someone caught a football. pic.twitter.com/eTdWM9fwiP
— Will Brinson (@WillBrinson) December 29, 2015
Complete odds, via Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook:
- Cardinals 3-1
- Patriots 3-1
- Panthers 9-2
- Seahawks 7-1
- Broncos 8-1
- Steelers 12-1
- Packers 16-1
- Bengals 20-1
- Chiefs 20-1
- Vikings 30-1
- Jets 40-1
- Redskins 50-1
- Texans 50-1
- Colts 9,999-1