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David Purdum
The defending champion Philadelphia Eagles capped a dominant playoff run last season with a blowout victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.
But as the Eagles prepare to kick off their title defense Thursday against the visiting Dallas Cowboys, they’re not the betting favorites to win the Super Bowl at sportsbooks in the U.S.
That honor belongs to the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens, the two Super Bowl co-favorites, who open the season against each other Sunday night.
The Bills climbed the Super Bowl odds chart at ESPN BET this week, with the sportsbook reporting a recent uptick of interest on Buffalo.
On Thursday, the Bills and Ravens were each listed at +650. The Eagles are next at +700, followed by the Chiefs at +800.
It’s only the fourth time in the last 50 seasons that the Bills were preseason Super Bowl betting favorites, according to ESPN Research. It’s also the 12th straight season the preseason favorite hails from the AFC. The last NFC team to be the Super Bowl favorite entering season was the 2015 Seattle Seahawks.
The Detroit Lions (+1000), Green Bay Packers (+1300) and Cincinnati Bengals (+1800) round out teams with Super Bowl odds shorter than 20-1 entering the season at ESPN BET.
Philadelphia is a growing favorite over Dallas in its season opener Thursday. After opening with the Eagles -7, the line has grown steadily over the last week and could be found as high as -8.5 on Thursday.
Baltimore is a consensus 1-point road favorite over the Bills on Sunday night. It’s only the fourth time in the past 45 seasons that the top two Super Bowl favorites have met in Week 1, according to ESPN Research.
The Sunday night showdown also matches two of the top three candidates to win regular-season MVP, with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson the favorite at +450 and Buffalo’s Josh Allen at +650. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is the second-favorite for MVP, listed at +600 at ESPN BET.
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