There's never a bad time to bet on NFL futures, but the market is especially tantalizing entering Week 1 of the 2022 regular season. From odds on the Super Bowl to betting lines on win totals, the best betting sites for NFL football are brimming with options from which you can choose. And for our money, we're currently laser focused on figuring out the best bets to win the 2022 NFC Championship.
Sure, we have the usual cast of characters to evaluate. We're of course talking about the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and reigning Super Bowl champion Los Angeles Rams. But the NFC is fairly wide open after those two squads. And that begs the question(s): Who else can win the 2022 NFC Championship? How about the Green Bay Packers? Or the Dallas Cowboys? Are people sleeping too heavily on the Arizona Cardinals? Can any other organization enter the mix?
Answers to these queries are en route. But first, here are the odds on NFL conference championship betting, with a focus on the NFC's 16 teams:
| Pick to Win |  |
|---|---|
| Tampa Bay Buccaneers | +340 |
| Green Bay Packers | +500 |
| Los Angeles Rams | +500 |
| San Francisco 49ers | +750 |
| Philadelphia Eagles | +1000 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +1000 |
| Arizona Cardinals | +1400 |
| New Orleans Saints | +1700 |
| Minnesota Vikings | +2000 |
| Washington Commanders | +3700 |
| New York Giants | +5000 |
| Carolina Panthers | +5000 |
| Detroit Lions | +5500 |
| Chicago Bears | +5500 |
| Seattle Seahawks | +7000 |
| Atlanta Falcons | +10000 |
As usual, please remember to double-check these 2022 NFL futures until you actually submit your picks. All of our odds on the 2022 NFC Championship are accurate entering Monday, September 5. And because a winner isn't crowned until the end of the season, there's plenty of time for linemakers to shift their results.
Meanwhile, for anyone who hasn't yet found a place to bet on 2022 NFC futures, we have your back roughly 1 trillion times over. If you scroll through our reviews of the top online sportsbooks, you will find this catalog basically amounts to a who's who of the best NFL betting sites in 2022.
Here's Why the Tampa Bay Buccaneers Are Favored to Win the 2022 NFC Championship
Two words provide an answer to this question: Tom Brady.
Most had the Bucs ticketed for substantial regression when they thought Brady was shuffling off into retirement. But then he came back. And that changes everything.
With Brady under center, the Bucs will once again be expert managers of the game clock. TB may not have the same type of arm strength he did a few years ago, but he knows how to dictate the tempo of a game.
This should also be a huge year for the Bucs' defense. They showed a ton of promise when it came to busting up plays in the middle of the field last year, and this season's core is stocked with even more smack-you-in-the-faith athleticism.
We kid you not, this Bucs unit could be top five in offense and top seven in defense. And that's why they are favorites to win the 2022 NFC championship.
Are the Green Bay Packers Overvalued NFC Title Picks?
We were pretty surprised to see the Packers laying the same odds to win the 2022 NFC championship as the reigning Super Bowl title holders (+500). Green Bay just lost superstar wideout Davante Adams to the Las Vegas Raiders, and quarterback Aaron Rodgers hasn't enjoyed this little to work with on the offensive side in quite some time.
Still, the Packers don't face many lethal threats in the AFC North unless you believe in the Minnesota Vikings. (Related: We're not sure we do.) Green Bay also has a couple of young names worth watching on both sides of the ball, so there's a chance they're much better than expected.
Yes, the Los Angeles Rams are Absolutely Capable of Winning the 2022 NFC Championship
While defending champions typically take precedent in the futures market when they're bringing back the crux of their nucleus, the Rams are tied for the second-best odds to win the 2022 NFC championship. And just so we're clear, that's not an insult.
Instead, it's a function of the NFC West. The Seattle Seahawks are no longer as dangerous after trading Russell Wilson, but the San Francisco 49ers should still have a top-shelf defense, and too many people are sleeping on the Arizona Cardinals. (More on this in a minute.)
To be honest, though, the strength of the NFC West doesn't really worry us. The Rams are still built to beat up opponents on both sides of the ball. Quarterback Matthew Stafford showed that he had plenty of star decision-making left in him last year, and Aaron Donald continues to rank among the NFL's most valuable defensive players.
Making the 2022 NFC championship won't be easy. Repeats are always hard. But make no mistake, the Rams have a shot.
Don't be the Person Who Misses the Boat on the Arizona Cardinals
DeAndre Hopkins' suspension has everyone worried about the Cardinals, particularly when they ended last season as one of the biggest underachievers. Count us among those who think Arizona has a chance to shock the NFL.
Without question, the Cardinals offense will miss Hopkins. But Kyler Murray is still among the hardest quarterbacks to take down, and he has a couple of strong downfield weapons to target in AJ Green and Marquise Brown.
Arizona has also bolstered one of their biggest weaknesses. After struggling to stop the run last year—they ranked 26th in net yards allowed per rushing attempt—the defensive front seven is noticeably deeper.
2022 NFC Championship Prediction
This may sound unbelievable, but we're oh-so-close to picking the Cardinals. Their 14-to-1 payout is enticing when we think they'll have a chance to win between 11 and 13 games and potentially rank as the top team in the NFC West.
And yet, we just can't bring ourselves to do it, because Tom Brady and the Bucs exist.
Again: This isn't just about Brady's return. It's about the Bucs having a truly terrifying defensive core. And it's also about an NFC South Division that has no shot of matching Tampa Bay's two-way firepower.
Heck, the entire NFC conference will struggle to keep pace with the Bucs. As long as they remain healthy, they have the potential to spit out 13 or 14 victories and waltz their way to a second Super Bowl of the Tom Brady era.
OSB Prediction: Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+340)
Take a look at this list of the top online sportsbooks so you can decide which one to use for all of your 2022 NFL futures betting:
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