Super Bowl 2015: Matchup Predictions and Complete Odds for All Playoff Teams
The field cut to 12, Las Vegas leaves bettors little room for error when it comes to 2015 Super Bowl odds.
Wild Card Round will weed out some of the pretenders, although good luck figuring out which teams those will turn out to be.
After all, a brief glance at the odds shows that a team with a losing record—the seven-win Carolina Panthers—actually has better odds than a handful of others in the playoffs.
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Bettors hungry to make some coin on the few remaining games of the NFL calendar better be smooth. Consider below a one-stop shop for odds and more as Wild Card Weekend approaches.
2014-15 NFL Playoffs Bracket
Wild Card Weekend Odds and Predictions
| No. 5 Arizona Cardinals vs. No. 4 Carolina Panthers (Saturday, Jan. 3) | CAR -6 | CAR | Carolina is hot at the right time and will stand tall against a second- or third-string quarterback. |
| No. 6 Baltimore Ravens vs. No. 3 Pittsburgh Steelers (Saturday, Jan. 3) | PIT -3 | BAL | Pittsburgh may be without Le'Veon Bell, something the stellar Baltimore defense will take advantage of on the way to a gritty win. |
| No. 5 Cincinnati Bengals vs. No. 4 Indianapolis Colts (Sunday, Jan. 4) | IND -6 | CIN | These two played to a 27-0 result in favor of Indianapolis earlier this year. Cincinnati is better this time around but will still come up short when it matters. |
| No. 6 Detroit Lions vs. No. 3 Dallas Cowboys (Sunday, Jan. 4) | DAL -7.5 | DAL | The Detroit defense does not stand a chance of stopping DeMarco Murray. |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 30.
Odds to Win 2015 Super Bowl
| Seattle Seahawks | 12-5 |
| Denver Broncos | 13-2 |
| Dallas Cowboys | 15-2 |
| New England Patriots | 3-1 |
| Green Bay Packers | 6-1 |
| Pittsburgh Steelers | 14-1 |
| Indianapolis Colts | 28-1 |
| Carolina Panthers | 33-1 |
| Detroit Lions | 40-1 |
| Cincinnati Bengals | 40-1 |
| Baltimore Ravens | 40-1 |
| Arizona Cardinals | 66-1 |
Odds courtesy of Odds Shark and accurate as of 3 p.m. ET on Dec. 30.
Team to Beat: Seattle Seahawks
Remember when the Seattle Seahawks were doomed?
Russell Wilson and Co. lost in San Diego, then lost a rare game at home to Dallas before a road trip to St. Louis resulted in a two-point loss.
Oh, the humanity, right?
All of those losses look acceptable in hindsight. The Seahawks went on to win nine of their last 10 games and tally some gaudy stats and rankings in the process:
"It's different circumstances, but this is a little bit better," Wilson said, per ESPN.com's Terry Blount. "You're 3-3, and people were doubting you, but there was no doubt in our locker room. To come back and show that resilience, I would pick this team."
In fact, this Seahawks team may be better than the unit that won it all a season ago. Wilson not only has 3,475 yards and 20 scores through the air, he has 849 yards on the ground with another six scores.
Pair that with Marshawn Lynch, who continues to anger media and run over the opposition all in a simple day's work on the way to 1,306 yards and 13 touchdowns.
Richard Sherman's defense holds everything together and has allowed just 39 points over the course of the last six weeks.
The only threat in the NFC is Dallas, the team that took down the Seahawks at home. Even that seems years ago at this point, as a Cowboys secondary that limited Wilson to 126 yards and an interception has regressed into a unit that ranks 26th against the pass.
Rest assured the Seattle staff will not feed Lynch just 10 times if the two sides meet again, either—especially considering that produced 61 yards.
Seattle is an easy pick. Too easy. The payout is minimal, but this year has actually tested the Seahawks, too. All that remains is to step onto the postseason turf once again.
Underdog to Watch: Baltimore Ravens
Does anybody really want to doubt a Baltimore Ravens team that sneaks into the playoffs?
The correct answer is no.
Coach John Harbaugh said, per ESPN.com's Jamison Hensley:
"I think [we] can be very dangerous. We all know the history. It’s a 0-0 tournament right now. We’ve been on the road plenty of times in the playoffs as a group. We’re as dangerous as anybody else, at least.
"
Baltimore is a defensive team, but to be honest, the secondary is a mess that could very well cost the Ravens a playoff game as early as a wild-card encounter with the Pittsburgh Steelers.
Bettors do not want to overlook the elite offense, though.
Yes, elite, the word folks hate, especially when it gets slapped on a quarterback. Guess what? Flacco has been just that this year, completing 62.0 percent of his passes for 3,986 yards and 27 touchdowns to 12 interceptions.
It helps that the Ravens tout a top-10 rushing attack behind the churning legs of Justin Forsett, who has 1,266 yards and eight scores on a 5.4 per-carry average.
When it comes right down to it, the Ravens are the best sleeper bet of all. Which teams on the AFC side of things actually scare them? Not familiar foes Pittsburgh and Cincinnati, the latter of which swept the Ravens but choke religiously in the playoffs. Not up-and-down Indianapolis. Not a one-dimensional New England team, nor a Denver team that has had its fair share of struggles in the cold months.
Baltimore's defense is a wild card, although try not to forget that it ranks in the top five against the rush—and Haloti Ngata is back in the fold.
This feels like a familiar scenario. Bettors may want to pay close attention to this payout and play accordingly.
Stats courtesy of NFL.com. Advanced metrics via Pro Football Focus (subscription required).
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