Sam Panayotovich
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
Over the last five seasons, the San Francisco 49ers have been the cream of the NFC crop, reaching four conference title games and two Super Bowls.
The problem is, they’re 2-2 in the former and 0-2 in the latter.
Most seasoned bettors and bookmakers know it’s difficult for a team to lose a Super Bowl and bounce back the following season. After all, San Francisco followed up its last championship loss with a 6-10 campaign in 2020.
Maybe there’s another darling for the upcoming season?
“I just went through my Super Bowl futures, and I’m pretty low on the [Philadelphia] Eagles,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews told FOX Sports from Las Vegas. “I’m down to 10-1 and that’s because they bet me. They’re one of our worst decisions as of right now.”
Remember, the Eagles ripped off 10 wins in their first 11 games last year and looked like they were headed for another deep playoff run. Then, defensive injuries snowballed, and poor defense schematics took center stage.
Philadelphia kicked Sean Desai and Matt Patricia to the curb and brought in defensive coordinator Vic Fangio, a man who’s shined in big markets like Chicago, Miami and San Francisco over the last decade. General manager Howie Roseman also selected defensive backs in the first two rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft, moves that addressed a glaring need.
It’s what great organizations do.
“The NFC should be interesting at the top,” Andrews said. “I’ve got the Niners at 3-1, Eagles 5-1, Lions 5-1 and Packers 7-1. They came in and bet the Rams all the way down to 12-1. I was much higher on L.A., but money talks.
“I’m a little higher on the Cowboys at 22-1 with the market mostly around 18. There’s a whole lot of drama around Dallas with Jerry Jones, CeeDee Lamb and Dak Prescott. What could possibly go wrong?”
The Cowboys also haven’t made a Super Bowl push in 30 years.
“There’s that, too,” Andrews cracked.
In other news, there’s one NFC team that’s garnering a bunch of money from the professionals. It’s probably not a team most of us could stomach, but Right Angle Sports (RAS) led the charge and others have followed suit.
Are you ready for this?
“There’s a very sharp outfit that’s really high on the Carolina Panthers,” Andrews reported. “I don’t know about them winning the conference, but there’s good business [to win the] division and ‘Over’ season wins.”
I definitely missed the boat on Carolina, but I’m hot on Philadelphia. In fact, the Eagles to win the NFC at 7-1 was one of my favorite future bets heading into the football season. I’m shorting San Francisco and, in my opinion, you’re either in the Eagles bucket or the Detroit Lions bucket.
Sorry, Dan Campbell.
Philadelphia has all the ingredients for an elite offensive attack with quarterback Jalen Hurts, receivers A.J. Brown and DeVonta Smith, tight end Dallas Goedert, newly minted running back Saquon Barkley and one of the best offensive lines in the entire league.
They’ll miss Jason Kelce, of course, but let’s get serious. His retirement isn’t the type of thing that’ll derail Philadelphia from reaching its potential.
“Listen, he was a terrific player for a long time,” Andrews said. “But it’s difficult to count on a 37-year-old center being the key to your team. He’s not easily replaced, but that wouldn’t steer me away from respecting the Eagles.
“If you subtract a point or 1.5 points from Philadelphia’s rating after Kelce’s retirement, you add it right back with the addition of Barkley. He’s probably worth two points and guys like that make any line look better.
“Barkley fits in well with their offense behind that line with the stuff they’re looking to do out of the backfield. And that’s a very strong franchise. The Eagles won a Super Bowl with Nick Foles for Christ’s sake.”
Perhaps it’s time to fly again.
Sam Panayotovich is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and NESN. He previously worked for WGN Radio, NBC Sports and VSiN. He’ll probably pick against your favorite team. Follow him on Twitter @spshoot.
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