Tag: division

Sep 24, 2023; Baltimore, Maryland, USA; Indianapolis Colts punter Rigoberto Sanchez (8), Indianapolis Colts place kicker Matt Gay (7), and Indianapolis Colts long snapper Luke Rhodes (46) react after Gay kicks a game winning field goal in overtime to beat the Baltimore Ravens at M&T Bank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brent Skeen-USA TODAY Sports

Colts rise, Vikings head due south in division futures

Posted on | by Field Level Media

On the day Anthony Richardson was named starting quarterback for the Colts, sportsbooks set less than optimistic odds for Indianapolis to win the AFC South Division.

But three weeks into the 2023 season, the Colts are atop the division standings, and odds on them staying there shifted dramatically since Aug. 15.

At that time, as Richardson prepared to start – without running back Jonathan Taylor – BetMGM and FanDuel had +550 odds on the Colts winning the South. Before traveling to play the Ravens last week, the Colts were +700 to take the South.

On Tuesday, following Indianapolis’ upset of Baltimore, the Colts were +275 with the Jaguars down from the opening line of -170 at Caesars to +125 at multiple books, including DraftKings.

DraftKings has the Tennessee Titans at +250 and the Texans at +1100.

Also rising are the Miami Dolphins (3-0).

Quarterback Tua Tagovailoa is the consensus favorite for NFL MVP and the Dolphins are the favorites in the AFC East at -135 at FanDuel and -160 at DraftKings, which lists the Buffalo Bills at +165.

Other big movers since the start of the regular season include the Minnesota Vikings and the well-documented dive of the Jets (currently +2800 in the AFC East) without Aaron Rodgers.

A playoff team last season, the Vikings are 0-3 and currently +600 to win the NFC North at DraftKings and FanDuel.

Vegas Insider consensus odds listed Minnesota at +300 before Week 1 behind the Detroit Lions, who remain the favorite (-105 at DraftKings) ahead of Thursday’s matchup with the Green Bay Packers. The Packers are +145 at FanDuel with the Lions at +100. Winless Chicago is +2500.

–Field Level Media

Dec 5, 2020; Chapel Hill, North Carolina, USA; A view of the field with the ACC logo in the second quarter at Kenan Memorial Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Bob Donnan-USA TODAY Sports

ACC to scrap divisions after 2022 season

Posted on | by Field Level Media

The 2022 season will be the last featuring divisions in the ACC, which announced a new scheduling format Tuesday.

The league is adopting a 3-5-5 format beginning in 2023, when every team will play three permanent rivalry games each season and rotate through the other 10 teams every other year.

“The future ACC football scheduling model provides significant enhancements for our schools and conference, with the most important being our student-athletes having the opportunity to play every school both home and away over a four-year period,” ACC commissioner Jim Phillips said in a statement. “In the end, it was clear this model is in the best interest of our student-athletes, programs and fans, at this time.”

At the end of the regular season, the top two teams (by conference winning percentage) will meet in the ACC title game on the first Saturday in December.

The ACC is the latest league to do away with divisions, joining the Big 12 (2011), American (2021), Pac-12 (2023) and Mountain West (2023).

According to ESPN, Pittsburgh will have the easiest slate against permanent rivals while Georgia Tech the toughest.

ACC permanent rivalries:

Boston College: Miami, Pitt, Syracuse
Clemson: FSU, Georgia Tech, NC State
Duke: UNC, NC State, Wake Forest
Florida State: Clemson, Miami, Syracuse
Georgia Tech: Clemson, Louisville, Wake Forest
Louisville: Georgia Tech, Miami, Virginia
Miami: BC, FSU, Louisville
North Carolina: Duke, NC State, Virginia
NC State: Clemson, Duke, UNC
Pitt: BC, Syracuse, Virginia Tech
Syracuse: BC, FSU, Pitt
Virginia: Louisville, UNC, Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech: Pitt, Virginia, Wake Forest
Wake Forest: Duke, Georgia Tech, Virginia Tech

–Field Level Media

Chiefs' Kareem Hunt happy with whatever role in offense

NFL Week 6 Football Props: Chiefs vs. Patriots

Posted on | by Martin Chandler

The Kansas City Chiefs and New England Patriots have both been playing exceptional football. Following a rocky 1-2 start, the Patriots have bounced back with 2 commanding victories over the Dolphins and Colts. Aided by Josh Gordon and the return of Julian Edelman, New England seems to have found it’s offensive rhythm they lacked in the first three weeks. They Currently sit atop the AFC East. There were many who considered the Jaguars’ defense to be the only thing that could slow down the dynamics Kansas City offense. The week 5 matchup started with the Chiefs taking a 20-0 lead by halftime, with Blake Bortles having thrown a couple of interceptions. Jacksonville managed to get on the board, but there was never really any hope for a second-half comeback as the Chiefs rolled to a 30-14 victory. Sunday night we’ll get to see the Chiefs head to New England to face their potentially toughest challenge of the season, although they will travel to LA to face the Rams in November. Kansas City defeated New England 42-27 in week 1 of last season. Alternate lines are very popular in Europe and allow the sportsbook provide accelerated lines at better odds. The offering of these alternate lines often come with higher bet commission, but they opportunity for big odds on a two-sided bet can be there every game.

Alternate lines are available at Sugar House Sportsbook if you live in the state of New Jersey.

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Teams That Can't Buy Success – A Look at the NFL's Longest Droughts

Posted on | by Martin Chandler

Days before Super Bowl III, Joe Namath famously guaranteed his New York Jets would defeat the heavily favored Baltimore Colts. His guarantee came true, and New York fans rejoiced. 49 years later, the Jets faithful have had little to celebrate, apart from their postseason win over the Patriots in January of 2011. It’s been a tough go of it, but maybe things will turn around for them soon.

The last time the Browns won their division, it was called the AFC Central, and the year was 1989. Since then, they’ve had only 3 winning seasons.

For most fans, it’s bad news to hear the term Drought and their favorite team in the same conversation. We’ve compiled data on each team, and how long it’s been since their last:

  • Divisional Title
  • Playoff Appearance
  • Playoff Win
  • Super Bowl Appearance
  • Super Bowl Win

Use the drop down menu to change categories.

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Wild Card Appearances (2002-2018)

Posted on | by Martin Chandler

Since the NFL was restructured in 2002, there are four teams that have not played in the postseason as a wild card. The Patriots, Bears, Texans and Buccaneers have either won their division or missed the playoffs completely.

In the same time frame, the Patriots have made 14 postseason appearances. Combined, the Bears, Bucs and Texans have made 10 appearances. 

Amount of wild card appearances is a good metric for the continued strength of a division as a whole. The graphic below displays each division and the number of wild card appearances since 2002. The AFC North comes out on top, boasting five consecutive seasons from 2008-2012 in which they sent at least two teams to the postseason. The AFC East and NFC West each finished with only six appearances.

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2017 Wins and Losses

Posted on | by Martin Chandler

Following a loss to the Pittsburgh Steelers on December 31st 2017, the Cleveland Browns completed their perfect 0-16 season. On the same day, the Baltimore faithful watched in anguish as the Ravens gave up a last-minute touchdown to the Bengals, essentially handing their wild card spot to the Buffalo Bills.

After starting the season with 4 consecutive losses, the Los Angeles Chargers finished the season with 9 wins (and almost nabbed themselves an AFC wild card spot). The 49ers started the season in a similar fashion, but finished on a 5-game winning streak, defeating three playoff teams.

You may not be a fan of any of the aforementioned teams, but the information probably sounded a bit familiar. That’s because wins and losses tend to be the only stats that anyone remembers. The graphic below reveals the wins and losses for each team in 2017, ranked from greatest to least. It also allows you to filter based on divisional and conference games.

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Comparing Team vs Divisional Wins

Posted on | by Martin Chandler

It’s no secret that the New England Patriots have pretty much owned the AFC East for the past decade. However, did you know that the rest of the AFC East have averaged fewer than 8 wins in the same time frame? If the goal is to make the playoffs, it certainly helps when the rest of your division tends to produce losing records. The flip side of the AFC East is the AFC North. The Bengals, Steelers, and Ravens have had many strong seasons, often sending two of the three teams to the playoffs (in 2011, all three teams advanced to the playoffs).
The graphic below allows you to choose a division and a team, and it displays the wins for the selected team vs. the average wins for the rest of the division.
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