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The Atlanta Falcons would like a repeat of their NFC Championship win last season that landed them in Super Bowl 51. Atlanta lost to New England last February but avoided the Super Bowl hangover that has gripped so many losing SB teams over the years. A Super Bowl victory as they enter the Wildcard Playoffs pays $2200 for every $100 bet.
Atlanta will first have to first get past the LA Rams if they want to repeat last year's feat. LA was coming in as a -5.5 home favorite. With Julio Jones not playing at 100% due to a rib injury, this is likely to provide the Rams with a slight edge.
Jones doesn't necessarily have to play at 100% to be good, however.
In 2017, he became only the second player with four consecutive seasons of at least 1,400 receiving yards and led the NFC in receiving yards for the fourth straight year. To top things off, Jones became the fastest player in NFL history to reach 9,000 receiving yards, getting there in his 95th game.
"Julio Jones is one of the best players in this league," Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay said, "and he can kind of do a little bit of everything."
"He's an elite receiver," Los Angeles defensive coordinator Wade Phillips said. "He may be the best - if not, one of the best, for sure -- in the league. He's set all kinds of records already in his career. This year, he's having a tremendous year. I think he has the most yardage of anybody in the league, so he's a hard guy to stop."
Getting past the Rams might be the easy part as the Falcons lost both road games against their division rivals - the Saints and Panthers - both of whom have made the post season. One will fall on Sunday.
But assuming a Falcons win Saturday, they will move on to face the Philadelphia Eagles next Sunday and that could be Atlanta's ticket to the NFC Championship game as the Eagles will be without star quarterback Carson Wentz. That's not to say Philadelphia isn't still a good team, it's just that Atlanta may actually have a good edge here.
Certainly the Falcons 22/1 odds to win the 2018 Super Bowl have value.
- Don Shapiro, Gambling911.com
