4 NFL teams to bet in a potentially shortened offseason
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The NFL schedule is official, but that doesn't mean we're any closer to knowing exactly how this season will unfold. The offseason could be especially unusual, with teams scrapping traditional summer programs in favor of virtual ones and planning for changes to their training camp schedules.
For some teams, such conditions could actually provide an advantage heading into the campaign. Here are four teams for bettors to target if the NFL offseason is shortened, with odds from theScore Bet in New Jersey:
Buffalo Bills
We've been singing the Bills' praises for months, and this is precisely why - they're ideally positioned to weather the storm of a truncated offseason.
Buffalo returns 21 of 22 starters from last year's most-used lineups, including its entire offensive line and arguably its 11 best defenders. Read that again, just to be clear: The entire team is returning. So too are the head coach and coordinators, making the Bills one of only three NFL teams to retain the same staff for more than two seasons.
If you're skeptical about Josh Allen in 2020, that's fair and reasonable. But with so little time for teams to gel, he's got an above-average chance of succeeding surrounded by a virtually identical nucleus. The Bills are still +120 to win the division - tied with the rebuilt Patriots - with a win total of 8.5. Both of those numbers are absolute bargains.
Baltimore Ravens
The Ravens took the league by storm in 2019, winning 14 games with relative ease. This was supposed to be the offseason to scheme around stopping them. A shortened prep period will leave defenses with limited contact time to prepare for Baltimore's bruising style - which is itself a response to limited practice hitting in recent years, anyway.
This group can win two fewer games than last year and still cash its gaudy win total of 11.5, especially after little substantive change to the personnel on either side of the ball. The Ravens are favored in all 16 games, and a shortened offseason will only widen the gap.
New Orleans Saints
Elite roster talent, veteran quarterback and coach, returning starters; the Saints check every box with emphasis, returning 20 starters from last year's playoff team that won 13 games and looked like the NFC favorite for much of the season.
Drew Brees, Sean Payton, and general manager Mickey Loomis are entering Year 15 together, and the roster is as loaded as ever. The Buccaneers' flashy offseason means the Saints are even money to win the NFC South with a win total of 10.5. That feels like a gift for a team that's claimed three straight division titles and won at least 11 games in each of those seasons.
Tennessee Titans
The Colts deserve praise for improving their roster, but have we forgotten that the Titans reached the AFC title game last year and return the core nucleus of that group in 2020? Tennessee is a +160 underdog to win the AFC South, which seems like value with the offseason in flux.
Even a shortened offseason as a starter is better than what Ryan Tannehill had as a backup before his breakout campaign, and the team's "Patriots Lite" infrastructure takes on greater significance heading into an uncertain 2020. The Titans are worth betting, especially early in the year.
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.