The Kansas City Chiefs fell far short on the weekend in their bid to repeat as Super Bowl champions. Despite dropping a lopsided 31-9 decision to Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, however, the Chiefs enter the offseason leading the way on the early Super Bowl 56 odds as short +500 favourites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
The Chiefs marched to the top of the NFL standings with a 14-2 straight-up record and posted wins in 25 of 27 outings prior to their lopsided loss in Tampa Bay. Kansas City’s AFC championship core is expected to remain largely intact, and Patrick Mahomes now has plenty of time to heal from a lingering toe injury that clearly hampered him in Sunday’s Super Bowl. That leaves the team well positioned to vie for a sixth straight AFC West divisional title.
Still basking in the glow of their impressive Super Bowl victory, the Buccaneers sit tied for third as a +1200 wager to repeat as NFL champions at online betting sites. With Brady leading the way, Tampa Bay made a dramatic turnaround in 2020. The Buccaneers tallied 11 regular season wins for the first time in 15 years, and embarked on an eight-game SU win streak that culminated in the team’s first Super Bowl victory in 18 years.
However, the team faces a massive challenge to keep their championship core intact. While Brady has eliminated any doubt about his intention to come back for a 22nd season, there is no shortage of Buccaneers set to become free agents including defensive tackle Ndamukong Suh, running back Leonard Fournette, and wide receiver Antonio Brown. The future of Rob Gronkowski is also uncertain; the tight end is set to hit the market, but he has previously stated that he would play with no quarterback other than Brady.
Elsewhere on the Super Bowl 56 odds, the Green Bay Packers sit at +1100, ahead of the Buccaneers and Buffalo Bills at +1200, with the Los Angeles Rams at +1300 on those NFL odds. With NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers leading the way, the Packers seized the top seed in the NFC this season before suffering an upset loss to Tampa Bay in the NFC title game.
The Bills ended the suffering of a generation of Buffalo football fans by reaching the AFC title game, while the Rams hope to build on a solid 10-6 campaign after acquiring veteran quarterback Matthew Stafford from Detroit in a blockbuster deal for Jared Goff.
Further down the odds board, the Baltimore Ravens and the San Francisco 49ers sit at +1600 and +1700, respectively, ahead of the Seattle Seahawks and New Orleans Saints at +2200.
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