The Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue to struggle this season. In Week 6, they lost to the Pittsburgh Steelers and scoring remained a problem for the Bucs. They managed just 18 points in the contest and fell to 3-3 on the season. It's time for any skepticism of Tampa Bay to turn into action.
The Pick: Atlanta wins the NFC South at 13/2
The NFL isn't one of those leagues where teams play a ton of games. You have to start grounding firm opinions on teams based on small sample sizes.
If you take the Bucs and their 3-3 record at face value, then it's clear that they aren't a team you would want to be placing bets on in futures markets. For their division, for instance, they are just 2/11 (-550) with bet365 to win it, meaning a bet of 11 units would return just 2 as profit.
In the NFC South division, it would be far better to go with the Atlanta Falcons. They are only 3-3 as well but at least there are some decent odds to be had on the team. Atlanta is priced out at +650 (13/2) to win the NFC South.
13 to 2 on Atlanta: a good value bet
The Falcons played a really interesting game in Week 6, defeating the touted San Francisco 49ers 28-14. Atlanta only had one missed target in the game and the Falcons utilized a three-player rushing attack. Meanwhile, Atlanta's best offensive players never quite got their teeth into the game and Jimmy Garropolo threw two interceptions.
Head coach Arthur Smith of Atlanta deserves a decent grade at this point in the season. He only went 7-10 last season but he looks like he can improve on that this season.
In Atlanta's next eight games, they have six games where they might be favored. They face Carolina twice, the Bears, Washington, Pittsburgh, and New Orleans. After 14 games, you could put Atlanta at 8-6 or even 9-5. That record could make them competitive with the lackluster Bucs this season, especially if their 45-year-old doesn't endure the whole season.
Take Atlanta to win the NFC South at 13 to 2. It really is the only bet in this market that can be made.
Atlanta Falcons futures bet
- Atlanta wins the NFC South at 13/2 with bet365
