The current champions, the Philadelphia Eagles, achieved an impressive victory in last season’s playoffs, culminating in a resounding triumph over the Kansas City Chiefs in the Super Bowl.However, despite their recent success, the Eagles are not favored to win the Super Bowl in US sports betting, as they prepare to begin the defense of their title on Thursday against the Dallas Cowboys.That honor falls to the Buffalo Bills and the Baltimore Ravens, who share the top spot as favorites for the Super Bowl, and will face off on Sunday night at the start of the season.The Bills have climbed in the Super Bowl odds this week, with a recent increase in interest in the Buffalo team.On Thursday, both the Bills and the Ravens had odds of +650. The Eagles follow with +700, and the Chiefs with +800.According to data, it’s only the fourth time in the last 50 seasons that the Bills are favored to win the Super Bowl in the preseason. Furthermore, it’s the twelfth consecutive season that the preseason favorite comes from the AFC. The last NFC team to be the Super Bowl favorite at the start of the season was the Seattle Seahawks in 2015.The Detroit Lions (+1000), Green Bay Packers (+1300), and Cincinnati Bengals (+1800) complete the list of teams with odds less than 20-1 to win the Super Bowl at the start of the season.Philadelphia is shaping up as a clear favorite over Dallas in their Thursday opener. After opening with the Eagles -7, the line has steadily increased over the past week and could reach -8.5 on Thursday.Baltimore is favored by one point as a visitor over the Bills on Sunday night. It’s only the fourth time in the last 45 seasons that the top two favorites for the Super Bowl have faced each other in Week 1.The Sunday night matchup also pits two of the top three candidates to win the regular season Most Valuable Player (MVP) award against each other, with Baltimore’s Lamar Jackson as the favorite at +450 and Buffalo’s Josh Allen at +650. Cincinnati quarterback Joe Burrow is the second favorite for MVP, with odds of +600.
Bills and Ravens, Super Bowl favorites; Eagles not leading the betting
