The Patriots, who started the season with an 8-0 record, were the preseason betting favorites and were sitting as the clear No. 1 choice at +230 on PointsBet and +225 on DraftKings Sportsbook in mid-October. But the reigning Super Bowl champs lost three of their final five games, including a stunning 27-24 setback against visiting Miami on Sunday.
That bumped the Patriots out of a first-round bye and into Saturday’s AFC wild-card round against the sixth-seeded Tennessee Titans.
PointsBet, DraftKings and FanDuel were offering the Patriots at +1200 as of Monday late afternoon.
According to ESPN, the longest odds for a Belichick-coach Patriots team entering the playoffs were 11-1 (+1100) in 2009, also the last time New England failed to earn a first-round bye.
Since Tom Brady became New England’s starting quarterback in 2001, the Patriots have played in the wild-card round three times. They are 2-1 in wild-card games and 3-3 overall in those playoff seasons, failing to reach a Super Bowl.
New England has won six Super Bowls since 2001, which was Belichick’s second season.
Ravens remain betting favorites
The NFL-best Baltimore Ravens (14-2) maintain their status the betting favorite at +210 on PointsBet and +220 on DraftKings and Fan Duel. Odds are similar of the next four teams — the San Francisco 49ers (+400 on DraftKings), the Kansas City Chiefs (+450), the New Orleans Saints (+600) and the Green Bay Packers (+1000).
Rounding out the odds on DraftKings: The Philadelphia Eagles and Seattle Seahawks (+2500 each), the Houston Texans and Minnesota Vikings (+3300), the Titans (+5500) and the Buffalo Bills (+6000).
Any bettor taking a chance on Kansas City when the status of star quarterback Patrick Mahomes was up in the air in October could be rewarded. The Chiefs could be had at +1100 on DraftKings after Mahomes suffered a knee injury, but the sportsbooks adjusted to lower odds on news that the injury wasn’t season-ending.
Third-seeded New England is a 4.5-point favorite to beat visiting Tennessee on Saturday. The No. 4 Texans are 3-point favorites in their home game against No. 5 Buffalo.
The No. 5 Seahawks, who could have been the No. 1 seed in the NFC with a win over San Francisco on Sunday night, is favored by two points on the road against the Eagles. In the other matchup Sunday, the third-seeded Saints are the biggest favorite in the first round, giving eight points to the sixth-seeded Vikings.
–Field Level Media (@FieldLevelMedia)
