While many analysts will spend the rest of the week talking about the epic comeback by the New England Patriots or the epic collapse by the Atlanta Falcons—depending on which angle you prefer—the odds for Super Bowl LII have already been released.
That should come as no surprise in a sports world that is dominated by the NFL and its fans, which have an insatiable urge to talk about what will happen next.
According to the official odds releases right after Sunday’s big game, the Patriots will return to the Super Bowl in 2018 and earn yet another championship. In fact, the odds of that happening currently sit at 5-1. If you go by those odds, they will meet the Dallas Cowboys at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minnesota.
But of course, a lot can change between now and then.
A lot will have to change in order to the Los Angeles Chargers to become part of the Super Bowl discussion. The team will have a brand new head coach on the sideline along with having to deal with the distraction of moving to a new city after 55 years in the same location.
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That’s part of why the team faces 60-1 odds of hoisting the Lombardi Trophy next year.
Only five teams have worse odds than that and if you haven’t looked at the list yet, you can probably guess which teams they are. If you said the Cleveland Browns, San Francisco 49ers, Los Angeles Rams, New York Jets and Chicago Bears, you would be correct.
It’s interesting that the Chargers have better odds than the other LA team, the Rams, so that has to be seen as somewhat of a positive.
But first things first. The Chargers, who have appeared in just one Super Bowl in franchise history, haven’t won the AFC West since 2009. Both the Kansas City Chiefs and Oakland Raiders were serious contenders this past year and the Denver Broncos are just one year removed from a Super Bowl win.
When considering that, 60-1 odds don’t look that bad.