2016
NFC West
NFL Betting Preview
Odds to Win
The Seahawks were huge favorites last year at -300, but the Cardinals were the value pick and ended up taking the NFC West by three wins despite their +440 odds early on. Even with how 2015 went, Seattle is still the favorite to win the division, although at smaller odds. As for the rest, nothing has changed. The Rams and 49ers almost have the exact odds as a year ago.
Odds to win NFC West
courtesy of 5Dimes
Seattle Seahawks -120
Arizona Cardinals +140
Los Angeles Rams +900
San Francisco 49ers +2400
Things went a bit differently for the Seattle Seahawks last year, starting the campaign 2-4 and struggling on both sides of the field. But after their bye in Week 9, things took a turn for the better as they opened up the offense with Russell Wilson slinging touchdowns for fun to Doug Baldwin. Now the question is if they can keep that up. The offensive line remains an issue, especially with Russell Okung gone from tackle. But with playmaker Wilson under center, that wasn’t a huge deal last year, at least when he escaped the pass rush. Defensively, the Seahawks remain an elite group as they didn’t really lose anyone and picked up former guys like Chris Clemons and Brandon Browner.
While things look great for the Seahawks, it’s hard to forget what the Arizona Cardinals did last year en route to 13 wins. The defense wasn’t as good as previous versions, but with a healthy Carson Palmer for most of the way, they were one of the best in the league, leading to 489 points scored and there’s no reason to believe they’ll take a step back. Under Bruce Arians, this offense should be just as dynamic with Palmer. They have the same elite and speedy wide outs to go with a deep backfield led by David Johnson, who tore teams apart last year. In addition, the defense should look a little better adding Chandler Jones to help a weak pass rush and Tyvon BraNCh in the secondary while Tyrann Mathieu recovers from injury. They’ll battle Seattle all year long for the top of the division.
For the last few years it looked like the Los Angeles Rams were taking steps at becoming a better team and challenging in the NFC West. However, nothing ever came to fruition as Jeff Fisher continued his reign as a mediocre NFL coach that has mediocre teams. They drafted Jared Goff, who should start right away, but they also GAve up a lot to get him. Unfortunately, the receivers around him aren’t great with Kenny Britt still somehow a top option. It’s likely they’ll lean on Todd Gurley as much as possible as long as the line can find him holes. Defensively, the Rams lost some pieces, but this is still a really good unit that has one of the better lines in the league. But to get better overall, they’ll need more consisteNCy on offense, and it’s hard to see that happening immediately with Goff.
Speaking of quarterback questions, the San Francisco 49ers will start either Blaine GAbbert or Colin Kaepernick. That’s right, they decided to roll with the same guys as last year that got them a 5-11 record. Of course, Chip Kelly is now there, but there’s still plenty of doubt on the offense that scored 238 points last year, by far the worst rate in the NFL. Their receivers are hit-or-miss and running back Carlos Hyde has been injury-prone in his short career. Defensively, this isn’t the unit from a few years ago and they lack in a lot of areas. Getting a winning record would be impressive for Kelly in his first year and the division title is almost impossible.
The Cardinals have the best value to win the NFC West, mainly because the Seahawks are still favored to win it, despite finishing with three fewer wins last year. It’s a wonder why Seattle is favored, but that just means Arizona is the team to lean on.