The Baltimore Ravens and back-to-back champion Kansas City Chiefs kick off the NFL season on Thursday, Sept. 5 from Arrowhead, and Week 1 concludes with the New York Jets visiting the Super Bowl runner-up San Francisco 49ers on “Monday Night Football” (8:20 p.m. ET on ABC/ESPN/ESPN+).
It also means that fantasy football drafts are in full swing and leagues are ready to kick off. Oh, and did we mention that the NFL is also quite popular among the betting community?
It's a great time to check out the odds (if you haven't already), and we've got you covered on everything from regular-season win total odds to Super Bowl odds. Plus, our panel of experts will also offer some of their favorite predictions, and maybe a bet or two.
We'll start with the NFC East.
The Dallas Cowboys are the defending division champions, but it's the Philadelphia Eagles who enter as the NFC East favorites in 2024. The Eagles struggled down the stretch last season and were eliminated from the playoffs in the wild-card round, as were the Cowboys.
Led by QB Jalen Hurts (who at 13-1 is the fifth pick to win MVP), the Eagles have the fifth-lowest odds to win the Super Bowl at 11-1. The Cowboys are 18-1 (T9), and the other two teams… well, there's work to be done.
The Washington Commanders (150-1) are beginning a new era with second overall pick Jayden Daniels taking over at quarterback, and the New York Giants (200-1) are ahead of only the New England Patriots in terms of odds to win the Super Bowl.
Here are all the odds for the NFC East teams and our opinions on possible bets.
Odds at time of publication. For the most up-to-date odds, visit ESPN BET.
NFC East Odds
NFC East Featured Bets
Schedules/lines 2024: Cowboys, Eagles, Giants, Commanders
2023 Results: Cowboys (12-5), Eagles (11-6), Giants (6-11), Commanders (4-13)
Soon: NFC West (Friday) | NFC North (Saturday) | NFC South (Sunday) | AFC East (Monday) | AFC West (Tuesday) | AFC North (Wednesday) | AFC South (September 5)
Did you know?
Courtesy of ESPN Statistics and information
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No team has won the NFC East in consecutive seasons since the Eagles from 2001-04, the longest streak without a repeat division champion in NFL history. ESPN Analytics projects that streak to continue this season, giving the Eagles a 49% chance of winning the division, slightly ahead of the defending NFC East champion Cowboys.
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ESPN BET favors the Eagles to win the division. Philadelphia's win total this season is 10.5, behind San Francisco and Kansas City (both 11.5).
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The Cowboys have the second-best record (36-15) in the NFL over the past three seasons, trailing only the Chiefs (37-14). Dallas has made 13 consecutive playoff appearances without reaching a conference championship game, the longest streak since 1970.
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Despite Washington's offseason shakeup, ESPN Analytics doesn't like its playoff chances (13%). Only the Carolina Panthers (5%) have a lower chance of making the postseason after leaving the NFC.
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Jayden Daniels is currently tied for second-lowest odds (+650) to win Offensive Rookie of the Year, according to ESPN BET. He's tied with Marvin Harrison Jr. (+650) and just behind Caleb Williams (+135).
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According to the Elias Sports Bureau, the Eagles will become the first team in NFL history to start a season with a QB with 10 TDs from scrimmage, a RB with 10 TDs from scrimmage and two 1,000-yard receivers from last season.
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Last season, Hurts and Josh Allen finished the season with 15 rushing touchdowns, the most in a season by a quarterback in NFL history. Hurts already holds the record for most consecutive 10-rushing touchdown seasons by a quarterback with three in a row and can become the first quarterback to have four total 10-rushing touchdown seasons.
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From 2015 to 2020, the MVP had a preseason record of at least 30-1 in five of six seasons. Since then, the winner has gone 14-1 or worse in each of the past three seasons. However, the true preseason favorite to win the MVP has only won once in those 10 seasons: Tom Brady in 2017.
Erin Dolan's choice: Eagles to win division (-130), OVER 10.5 wins (-140)
There hasn’t been a repeat winner in the NFC East since the 2003-04 season. The Cowboys won the division last season after Philadelphia (the division winner in 2022) imploded down the stretch, going 1-6 after a 10-1 start, completely crushing oddsmakers who had the Eagles at over 11.5 wins. The Eagles were fifth in offensive EPA and 23rd in defensive EPA through the first 12 weeks. They were 19th in offense and 30th in defense over the final seven games. I don’t see that happening this season under new offensive coordinator Kellen Moore and new defensive coordinator Vig Fangio. The Cowboys will regress, the Commanders are trying to rebuild, and the Giants have no chance of winning the division with their roster.
