For the first time in 20-years Tom Brady is not the QB of the New England Patriots and that means the favorite to win the Super Bowl in 2021 is literally anyone’s best guess. There are the obvious favorites in the Kansas City Chiefs who are the reigning Super Bowl champions but the candidates who could come in and take this year’s title is a fairly lengthy list.
Realistically there are a number of teams who have a shot at winning this year’s Super Bowl. Kansas City, San Francisco, New Orleans, Tampa Bay, Green Bay, Minnesota, Baltimore and would anyone be shocked if the Falcons, Rams, or Seahawks make it to the big game? And then there are the Patriots. A team that went 12-4 last season, fell to the Titans in Gillette Stadium and no longer have Tom Brady under center. But New England cannot be underestimated as long as they have Bill Belichick on the sidelines.
New England opens the season as -6.5 point favorites against the Miami Dolphins on 9/13 according to the NFL point spreads for week one. Considering the Dolphins finished last season with a 5-11 record that isn’t that impressing but Brian Flores did have his team clicking at the end winning 3 of their last five games including their last two. It will be interesting to see who the starting QB is week one for both sides with the current expectation in New England being either Brian Hoyer or Jarret Stidham while the Dolphins could go with Tua Tagovailoa, Josh Rosen, or Ryan Fitzpatrick.
Miami not only drafted a top QB in Tagovailoa but also made a number of key off-season improvements including signing Kyle Van Noy, Byron Jones, Jordan Howard, Emmanuel Ogbah, Shaq Lawson, Ereck Flowers, Ted Karras, Elandon Roberts, and Clayton Fejedelem. In total Miami signed 10 free agents this off-season with the total contract value being north of $200 million. New England, on the other hand, has been in a cap situation that has limited their moves to minor free agent signings and bulking through the draft and undrafted free agents.
So in essence, there is always a chance Miami beats New England and from a betting perspective that makes them the smart play in week one of the NFL season. That being said, I wouldn’t exactly go betting against Belichick.
