By Will Hill
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
As the NFL season gets closer, there is still time to get in some good futures bets at long odds.
Even when the regular season starts in a couple weeks, keep in mind that some of the eventual award winners last year had astronomical odds late in the season.
Lamar Jackson was 15-1 to win the MVP with just a couple of weeks to go. Kevin Stefanski was 80-1 to win Coach of the Year in mid-December, and Joe Flacco was as high as 250-1 to win Comeback Player of the Year when he took over the Cleveland Browns starting quarterback job late in the season.
Related: Best early NFL futures bets by Chris ‘The Bear’ Fallica
That being said, here are a few long shots that I think provide tremendous value.
Pittsburgh Steelers To Score Fewest Points in Regular Season
This is a season-long bet, and based on watching the Steelers this preseason, I believe it is a bet that has a very good chance of cashing.
There’s an old saying, “When you have two quarterbacks, you have no quarterback.” The Steelers definitely have two quarterbacks.
Pittsburgh’s offense with Russell Wilson only mustered one first down in 14 dropbacks Saturday night versus the Buffalo Bills, as Wilson looked like a shell of his former self. Justin Fields was only slightly better, as the team scored just three points against the Bills’ backups.
I’m not sure who starts for the Steelers Week 1 in Atlanta, but they have a brutal schedule this year and play a bunch of games outdoors late in the season.
The Steelers acquired Wilson and Fields for just about nothing this offseason, and it appears they got what they paid for.
PICK: Steelers to score fewest points in regular season (+1400)
Robert Saleh To Win 2024 NFL Coach Of the Year
I love this number, as I’m very high on the New York Jets this year. Usually, COY is reserved for teams who exceed low expectations. But Saleh is a media favorite and is in the New York market coaching a team that hasn’t made the playoffs since 2010. That’s the longest postseason drought in North American professional sports.
The previous longest drought was the Sacramento Kings in the NBA, and when they finally made the playoffs in 2023, their coach Mike Brown won Coach of the Year honors by a wide margin. I see a similar thing happening in the NFL this season.
PICK: Robert Saleh to win Coach of the Year (+2500)
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New York Jets Last Undefeated Team in 2024 NFL Season
Speaking of the Jets — yes, they have a very difficult opener against the San Francisco 49ers on Monday Night Football. After that, they will be favored in every game they play for quite a while.
New York faces the Tennessee Titans, New England Patriots (twice), Denver Broncos, Minnesota Vikings, Pittsburgh Steelers and a home game against the Bills to round out the rest of its early schedule.
If Aaron Rodgers & Co. can pull off the small upset in San Francisco, the Jets have a shot to string together a bunch of wins early on.
PICK: Jets last undefeated team in 2024 (+1500)
Will Hill is a contributor on “Bear Bets: A FOX Sports Gambling Show” and has been betting on sports for over a decade. He is a betting analyst who currently hosts the “Shoulda Bet More” podcast and has been a host on VSiN, as well as the Goldboys Network.
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