Andrew Wilsher
The 2025 NFL season has almost arrived, and after a hot offseason, all 32 teams will soon get suited up and begin their battle to reach Super Bowl 60. However, before teams can start dreaming of lifting the Vince Lombardi Trophy, they must first set their sights on reaching the postseason. There is always plenty of team turnover when it comes to making the NFL playoffs, even more so now that 14 teams advance to the postseason, with at least a couple of surprises every year. In 2024, I correctly predicted one of those surprises, as the Commanders reached the playoffs at +310 odds before making it all the way to the NFC Championship game! Let’s dive into the NFL odds and our expert NFL picks for who will reach the NFL playoffs in the 2024 NFL season.
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To Make the NFL Playoffs odds
Odds courtesy of bet365 and available at time of publishing.
- Buffalo Bills -800
- Baltimore Ravens -550
- Philadelphia Eagles -400
- Kansas City Chiefs -380
- San Francisco 49ers -200
- Detroit Lions -185
- LA Rams -165
- Tampa Bay Buccaneers -160
- Cincinnati Bengals -150
- Washington Commanders -150
- Houston Texans -140
- LA Chargers -135
- Denver Broncos -130
- Green Bay Packers -130
- Minnesota Vikings -110
- Arizona Cardinals +125
- Pittsburgh Steelers +135
- New England Patriots +140
- Atlanta Falcons +155
- Chicago Bears +175
- Seattle Seahawks +175
- Jacksonville Jaguars +180
- Dallas Cowboys +190
- Indianapolis Colts +200
- Miami Dolphins +225
- Carolina Panthers +230
- Las Vegas Raiders +320
- Tennessee Titans +400
- New York Jets +475
- New York Giants +650
- Cleveland Browns +850
- New Orleans Saints +850
There are 17 teams available at plus-money odds to reach the playoffs. Given the team turnover in the NFL postseason and the sport’s unpredictability in general, you’re typically better off targeting teams at bigger odds that could be undervalued. Let’s break down my best bets to make or miss the NFL Playoffs.
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To Make the NFL Playoffs best bet: Chicago Bears (+184)
Odds available at FanDuel Sportsbook at time of publishing.
There was a lot of hype behind the Bears going into the 2024 season after making a number of solid moves and bringing in Caleb Williams at quarterback. They ended up slumping to a 5-12 record to comfortably finish bottom of the NFC North, but I’m predicting a turnaround for Chicago in 2025. Williams found it tough in his rookie year but did show enough to make me think that he can make a big leap in year 2, and he still has a ton of solid weapons at his disposal, including DJ Moore, Rome Odunze and Cole Kmet. A case can also be made that all 3 of their NFC North rivals take a step back this season, which should bolster their opportunities in getting divisional wins on the board.
As I mentioned last year when picking the Commanders to reach the postseason, we always see a number of teams go from bottom of their division to making the playoffs the following year. In 2021, 3 teams met that criteria, in 2022 it was 4 teams, in 2023 it was 2 teams and last year it was the Chargers and Commanders who pulled it off. The Bears have a great head coach in Ben Johnson now who can unlock the potential of this offense, and I feel like people could be sleeping on the Bears a little too much this season.
Check out our NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year picks and NFL Defensive Rookie of the Year best bets after we cashed BOTH award winners at +700 and +1100 odds last season!
To Make the NFL Playoffs prediction: Jacksonville Jaguars (+180)
Odds available at bet365 at time of publishing.
Another team that could enjoy a big turnaround season is the Jacksonville Jaguars. The Jags went 4-13 but it’s worth highlighting that 10 of those defeats were by 7 points or fewer. Things just never really fell right for them but that makes them a prime bounce-back candidate here. Liam Coen comes in as head coach after great success as Tampa Bay’s offensive coordinator in 2024, and he should be able to get a tune out of an offense that has a number of explosive tools that can make a difference. Trevor Lawrence should flourish in Coen’s system, while wideout Brian Thomas posted 10 receiving touchdowns in his rookie year.
The Jaguars also have the benefit of playing in a relatively weak division. The Titans had the joint-worst NFL record last season, while the Colts are unlikely to be anything special with Daniel Jones as their starting quarterback. The Texans remain the measuring stick in the division, but they looked a lot more beatable than expected in 2024 and could be vulnerable to Jacksonville. At +180 odds, there is value with the Jags.
Lock in ThatGuyBets’ NFL MVP predictions at +650 and +4000 odds
To Miss the NFL Playoffs best bet: Denver Broncos (+130)
Odds available at DraftKings Sportsbook at time of publishing.
The Broncos profile perfectly as a team that the public could be a tad too high on and look good value to miss the playoffs at plus-money odds. For starters, the AFC is absolutely loaded with great teams. I would have the Bills, Dolphins, Ravens, Bengals, Steelers, Texans, Chiefs and Chargers all ranked better than Denver, so getting +130 looks a steal. They’ll be playing in a tough AFC West where the Chiefs and Chargers are expected to be battling it out for the division title, while the Raiders also can’t be discounted with Pete Carroll at the helm and Geno Smith and Ashton Jeanty added.
As for Denver itself, they did well to creep into the playoffs in 2024 but Bo Nix didn’t overly impress me and I’m expecting regression to come his way this year. As well as being in a tough division, they must also take on a sturdy NFC East which could also work against them. There are tons of question marks around this team and I can easily see them having a down year, perhaps even bottom of the AFC West behind the Raiders.
Get Chris Farley’s Super Bowl 60 best bet for the 2025 season
