NFL odds: Bettors like the Jaguars to have a huge season, and it makes sense
One of BetMGM's offerings is which team will have the most wins this NFL regular season. One team is getting almost 40% of the money in that market, and it's not the Kansas City Chiefs or Philadelphia Eagles.
Bettors believe the Jacksonville Jaguars might have a huge season coming.
A surprising 39.9% of the money bet on which team will have the most wins this season is on Trevor Lawrence and the Jaguars. The Jaguars are popular among bettors in other ways. Of all the money bet on the AFC South champion, 52.2% was on Jacksonville as of late June, even at -165 odds.
Sharp bettors have liked the Jaguars for years, even when they weren't very good. Now bettors have a good reason to back the Jaguars.
Jaguars popular among bettors
The Jaguars are coming off an exciting season. Freed of Urban Meyer's disastrous coaching, the Jaguars finished the regular season on a five-game winning streak to beat the Tennessee Titans for the AFC South title. They had a thrilling comeback win in a wild-card playoff game against the Los Angeles Chargers. There are a lot of reasons for optimism, starting with Lawrence's second-half breakout.
Bettors aren't necessarily grabbing the Jaguars to have the most regular-season wins because they believe Jacksonville is the NFL's best team. But the odds are good and the schedule gives Jacksonville a shot.
The Jaguars are +1600 to have the NFL's best record. Compare that to +500 for the favorite Chiefs or +700 for the Eagles or Cincinnati Bengals.
Jacksonville's division gives it a chance to collect some wins. The AFC is deep. An AFC East team like the Buffalo Bills has six rough divisional games. The Eagles have two other 2022 playoff teams in their division. The Jaguars don't have that issue.
The AFC South could be bad. The Houston Texans should still be one of the NFL's worst teams, the Tennessee Titans have serious roster flaws, and the Indianapolis Colts have a rookie quarterback and are coming off a miserable season. The Jaguars could run away with the division. They have the easiest path, by far, to a division title among all AFC teams.
That could lead to a lot of wins.
Jaguars have a favorable schedule
The Jaguars could falter this season. Their offensive line is a question. The defense was easily in the bottom half of the league last season, and the team didn't have the cap flexibility to make any significant additions. Even Lawrence, who was up and down for his first season and a half, is no sure thing to build off his strong finish last season.
But it's a worthwhile bet. If Jacksonville can cruise through its division, it'll have a head start that other top contenders probably won't get.
Last season the Eagles had a little preseason buzz, but nobody expected them to be the best team in the NFL's regular season. They went 14-3, finishing with the most wins in the league. Due to a number of factors, the best record isn't always posted by the team with the best roster.
Many Jaguars bettors would be pleased if they are this season's surprise story.
