With so many betting options for the NFL season, we asked PressBox’s Stan “The Fan” Charles, Glenn Clark and Joe Serpico, FantasyPros’ Ken Zalis and 105.7 The Fan’s Jeremy Conn to share some of their favorite bets for this season for the Ravens and around the league.
All numbers are from SuperBook Sports in mid-August.
Stan “The Fan” Charles
Baltimore Ravens To Win The Super Bowl (+1800)
I don’t know about you, but if I am going to make a futures bet and let the house hold $50 or $100 on a bet, I want the payoff to have a nice potential return.
I know that Lamar Jackson hasn’t exactly flourished in the four postseason games he has started for the Ravens. He lost a home game to the Chargers at the end of the 2018 season. The following year, he lost another home game, this time to the Titans after a dazzling 14-2 regular season. Then at the end of the 2020 season, he beat the Titans on the road before falling to the Bills on the road.
The next two seasons, Jackson didn’t reach the playoffs. He missed the final five games of the 2021 season as the Ravens stumbled to an 8-9 finish. Jackson missed the final five games of the 2022 season, but the Ravens did make the playoffs. They played with Tyler Huntley under center and they pretty much outplayed the Bengals in Cincinnati, at least until Huntley left the ball too available on a goal-line leap and the Bengals stole it and ran for a game-winning touchdown.
So, the Ravens ended up going all-in on Jackson, not only giving him pretty much every dollar he had been asking for but other goodies as well — a new offensive coordinator and three new receivers to significantly upgrade the receiving corps: Nelson Agholor, Odell Beckham Jr. and No. 1 pick Zay Flowers.
The Ravens have learned their lesson. As exciting and game-changing as Jackson can be when improvising, his risk of injury was also far greater playing that style, as evidenced by those two season-ending injuries.
The regular season is no cakewalk, with a trip to London to play the Titans and West Coast trips to face the Cardinals, Chargers and 49ers.
As exciting as it will be to watch this new and improved offense, what I am most excited about is the impact that full seasons from Roquan Smith and David Ojabo will have on what I think is a championship-caliber defense.
Jalen Hurts To Win NFL MVP (+1000)
I happened to watch several Eagles games in head coach Nick Sirianni’s rookie season of 2021. That was happenstance, but in 2022 I made it a point to watch the Eagles as often as I could. I loved the combination of Hurts, Sirianni and offensive coordinator Shane Steichen (now head coach of the Colts).
In Sirianni’s first year at the helm, Hurts led the Eagles to a 9-8 mark. Ahead of the 2022 season, the Eagles added wide receiver A.J. Brown from the Titans to a mix that already included former Heisman Trophy winner DeVonta Smith. The combination was brutal on the opposition.
Hurts had his team 30 minutes away from a Super Bowl win. It wasn’t as if he did anything to recede from the moment. It was just that he was going up against the NFL’s best quarterback in Patrick Mahomes.
The Eagles will come back hungrier. They now have a healthy Dallas Goedert and two experienced, productive running backs in Rashaad Penny and D’Andre Swift.
They were 14-3 last year but face a tougher schedule this time around. Still, I see them winning 12-13 games. Ironically, new offensive coordinator Brian Johnson has known Hurts since the quarterback was 2 years old. What can I tell you? The Eagles are going back to the Super Bowl and Hurts wins MVP.
Detroit Lions Over 9.5 Wins (-130)
What can you say about a head coach who wants to have a live lion on the sideline? From what I read, Roger Goodell and the league aren’t big fans of the idea. This was a team that went 3-13 in Dan Campbell’s first season as head coach in 2021, but Campbell has created quite a stir about his team after a turnaround 9-8 season.
The Lions are one of four NFL teams, along with the Browns, Texans and Jaguars, to have never reached the Super Bowl. For the sake of context, the Texans have only been in the league since 2002. The Jags played their first game in 1995. The Browns and Lions have been around since well before the beginning of the Super Bowl era (1966), but the Lions have won just one playoff game in that time period.
I’m not predicting the Lions will get to the Super Bowl this season, but Campbell’s squad should make the playoffs. And while their schedule isn’t a walk in the park, the Lions should be able to win 10 or 11 games. The biggest reason is the greatly improved play of quarterback Jared Goff, but both sides of the ball are greatly improved and the division could be down everywhere else. The Vikings were 13-4 in 2022, but they allowed more points than they scored. The Bears could be respectable again, but the Packers figure to be a bit of a hot mess.
Glenn Clark
Baltimore Ravens Over 10 Wins (-125)
Lamar Jackson CAN’T suffer a significant injury AGAIN, right? If their quarterback had stayed healthy, the Ravens would have won 10 or more games in all five seasons since they drafted him. An odd scheduling quirk has the Ravens playing their division opponents all at home in the second half of the season, which should be a benefit to a team that could be banged up in general. Playing the AFC South should largely be a benefit to the win totals for all AFC North teams.
Chicago Bears To Make The Playoffs (+170)
I’m so bullish about the Bears (pun intended) that I’m going to dip a couple of bucks on them to win the NFC North at +425 as well. I don’t know that Justin Fields can make a leap from Year 2 to Year 3 like Lamar Jackson did from Year 1 to Year 2, but I don’t know that he has to. His electricity combined with dramatic upgrades at offensive line, wide receiver and linebacker make the Bears the most intriguing team to me in the absolutely wide-open NFC.
Los Angeles Rams To Make The Playoffs (+300)
We’re all assuming the 49ers and Eagles will make the playoffs and there will be winners of the NFC North and South. I happen to be a little higher on the Bears than most and not quite as high on the Lions as everyone else. But even if I put Detroit in the postseason, that still leaves two spots to be had. The Rams obviously have depth issues due to the salary cap hell created by their pursuit of a Super Bowl title (they’d probably tell you it was worth it). But with Aaron Donald, Matthew Stafford and Cooper Kupp, the floor can only be so low in the NFC.
Jeremy Conn
Baltimore Ravens Over 10 Wins (-125), To Win AFC North (+230)
The Ravens are going to have a revamped offense with tons of weapons to go along with a top-10 defense in my opinion. The AFC is loaded, but I do think the Ravens are the best team in the AFC North, and that will show this year. The Bengals have avoided significant injuries throughout the past two seasons. It’s very hard to stay healthy at all the key positions.
Atlanta Falcons To Win NFC South (+205)
I’m going to an awful division where I think the Saints are being overvalued. I believe the Falcons will have one of the best running games in the league. I actually think their defense will be better as well. But this division sucks and I’ll gladly take a flier on the team with a running game that is this strong.
Joe Serpico
Lamar Jackson To Win NFL MVP (+1600)
Let’s go for the home run with my local pick. All the pieces are there for the Ravens to make a magical run. Jackson is healthy and signed a massive extension. Baltimore has arguably its best set of skill position players in the history of the franchise and a new offensive coordinator who will modernize the passing game. We could realistically see Jackson throw for close to 4,000 yards and rush for 750-plus to take the honor for the second time.
Philadelphia Eagles Over 11.5 Wins (+110)
Getting plus odds for the best team in the NFC? Sign me up. The Eagles have a much tougher schedule this year — including a stretch in which they play the Chiefs, Bills, 49ers and Cowboys in consecutive weeks — but there won’t be a Super Bowl hangover in Philadelphia. Jalen Hurts leads the Eagles to the No. 1 seed again with 12 wins.
Will McDonald IV To Win Defensive Rookie of the Year (+2000)
Will Anderson got all the hype entering the draft, but McDonald was right behind him statistically as the best pass rusher in this class. Anderson is part of a rebuilding franchise, while McDonald has a ton of talent around him. The Jets will have back-to-back award winners on defense as McDonald racks up double-digit sacks.
Sean Payton To Win NFL Coach of the Year (+900)
Payton has made some noise this offseason about the previous coaching regime derailing Russell Wilson’s first season in Denver. The ex-Saints coach gets the Broncos back on track with a wild-card berth to win the award. The Broncos to make the playoffs at +180 is another bet I’ll be making.
Ken Zalis
Baltimore Ravens To Win AFC North (+230)
This is a no-brainer bet for me, as the Ravens have as good a chance to win the division as anyone. I would parlay that with over 10 wins at -125.
Detroit Lions Over 9.5 Wins (-130), Atlanta Falcons Over 8.5 Wins (-140)
Both teams are much improved on both sides of the ball and are playing in average to bad divisions. I love the upside of both teams. Parlay them to win their divisions with Detroit at +140 and Atlanta at +205.
New York Jets Under 9.5 Wins (+100)
I see a good defense, but Aaron Rodgers isn’t enough. There are a lot of new parts that must get on the same page quickly. I am skeptical.
Washington Commanders Over 6.5 Wins (+120)
I am a huge Sam Howell believer, and the Commanders have a bunch of talent on both sides of the ball.
Issue 282: August/September 2023
Originally published Aug. 16, 2023
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