NFL Playoff Odds in Week 1: Few Heavy Favorites for Expanded Playoffs

The 2020 NFL season is an unusual one for a few reasons, but one is the expansion of the postseason. The playoffs were expanded from 10 teams to 12 in 1990, and they've been that way for 30 years. Now, the playoff field is set to expand to 14 this season.

Looking at FanDuel Sportsbook's odds, even the expanded format doesn't leave us with a ton of postseason locks in 2020.

We are less than 48 hours away from kickoff of the 2020 NFL season ?@TheDuelSports takes a look at some of the notable lines for Week 1 ⤵️https://t.co/sDUsEaXaiA
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NFL Playoff Predictions

There are only three teams in the NFL with better than -400 odds (representing an 80 percent implied probability) to make the playoffs in 2020. These virtual locks are the Kansas City Chiefs (-850), Baltimore Ravens (-750) and San Francisco 49ers (-410).

After that, the New Orleans Saints (-350) and Dallas Cowboys (-280) round out the top five.

Beyond the top five, the race gets much closer. Another 10 teams are all between -130 and -198: The Indianapolis Colts (-198), New England Patriots (-190), Philadelphia Eagles (-188), Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-188), Buffalo Bills (-178), Seattle Seahawks (-138), Pittsburgh Steelers (-134), Green Bay Packers (-130), Minnesota Vikings (-130) and Tennessee Titans (-130).

After that group, there are five underdogs of +200 or less: the Cleveland Browns (+108), Los Angeles Rams (+130), Houston Texans (+144), Los Angeles Chargers (+148) and Chicago Bears (+164).

Who will be this year's NFL MVP? ?@TheDuelSports takes a look at the odds ?https://t.co/Y3Bhmogw46
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) September 9, 2020

This paints an interesting picture for the season ahead. There are a few overwhelming favorites to make the playoffs, but beyond that group it's going to be a wide open race to join the field in the NFL's expanded postseason in 2020.

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Jason Schandl is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Jason Schandl also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username Jaymun. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in his articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.