Saints installed as favorites for Super Bowl title

The New Orleans Saints march into the postseason as the consensus favorites to win Super Bowl LIII, according to sportsbooks across the nation.

With the playoff bracket set, the Saints are listed as the Super Bowl favorites at +225 at the SuperBook at Westgate Las Vegas. The Kansas City Chiefs are next at +400, followed by the New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams at +500.

New Orleans began the season at 14-1 and moved into the role of Super Bowl favorite during a 10-game winning streak that stretched into late November. In addition to Nevada, they are also the favorites at sportsbooks in Mississippi, New Jersey and Pennsylvania and can be found as low as +160 at some shops.

Teddy Bridgewater threw his first touchdown pass in more than three years on Sunday, the latest milestone in his comeback from a devastating 2016 knee injury.

Despite having the NFC’s No. 1 seed locked up already, New Orleans better hope its “disappointing” loss to Carolina isn’t a sign of things to come.

“The Saints are a loser for us,” Jeff Stoneback, MGM sportsbook director, said Sunday afternoon. “We’ve taken a ton of money on the Saints down in Mississippi. The [Chicago] Bears, of course, are a bad situation for us, too.”

The Bears, who started the season as 100-1 long shots at some books, are now +900. Las Vegas sportsbook operator CG Technology said Chicago winning the Super Bowl is a “big red number” for their futures market. The SuperBook also said the Bears would be a net loser for the house.

Chicago hosts the defending Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles in a wild-card matchup at Soldier Field. With the uncertain status of Eagles quarterbacks Carson Wentz and Nick Foles, some sportsbooks were cautious to post a point spread on the game.

In the other NFC wild-card game, the Dallas Cowboys are 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Seattle Seahawks.

In the AFC, the Baltimore Ravens are 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Los Angeles Chargers, and the Houston Texans are 2.5-point favorites over the visiting Indianapolis Colts.

Odds to win Super Bowl 53
(Courtesy of Westgate SuperBook as of Sunday night)

Saints +225

Chiefs +400

Patriots +500

Rams +500

Bears +900

Chargers +1,600

Ravens +2,000

Texans +2,500

Cowboys +2,500

Seahawks +2,500

Colts +2,500

Eagles +3,000
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