What are the chances the Denver Broncos are the two slices of bread around the New England Patriots in an NFL Super Bowl sandwich?
Well, just a couple of hours after the Patriots completed their stunning come-from-behind win over the Atlanta Falcons in Super Bowl 51, several sportsbooks in Las Vegas released Super Bowl 52 odds.
The sportsbook 5Dimes says the Broncos have the seventh-best chance of winning Super Bowl 52. Denver opened with +1600 odds — meaning you'd bet $100 to win $1,600* — of winning its second championship in three years.
Here's what the top 10 looks like:
- New England Patriots +450
- Dallas Cowboys +1000
- Green Bay Packers +1100
- Seattle Seahawks +1100
- Atlanta Falcons +1250
- Pittsburgh Steelers +1300
- Denver Broncos +1600
- Kansas City Chiefs +1900
- Oakland Raiders +1900
- New York Giants +1900
The Patriots are the early favorites, which isn't surprising. Tom Brady has no plans to retire, and Bill Belichick is still a robot who's programmed to do one thing: Win football games.
Besides the Patriots, the Steelers are the only other AFC team with better odds than the Broncos. Three teams from the AFC West made the top 10.
The biggest offseason question mark for the Broncos: What will they do at quarterback? Trevor Siemian played well at times last season, and his numbers ended up looking a lot like Alex Smith's. Siemian struggled late in the season though, throwing three touchdowns versus three interceptions over his final four games.
The Broncos could go with Siemian, Paxton Lynch, whom they traded up to select in the first round of the 2016 draft, or they could sign a quarterback in free agency.
On defense, the Broncos look like they're loaded with talent once again. The core of Football Outsiders' top-rated defense is returning. Von Miller, Chris Harris Jr., Aqib Talib, Derek Wolfe and T.J. Ward should all be back. Veteran edge rusher DeMarcus Ware is a free agent, but even if he doesn't re-sign, Denver has Shane Ray ready to take on an even bigger role.
It will be interesting to see how Denver goes about improving an offense that ranked 25th in points per drive last season. Bringing in Russell Okung and Donald Stephenson as the offensive tackles didn't work out, and it's possible Denver moves on from both of them. What Denver decides to do there and at QB could go a long way in determining if it's back in the playoffs this year.
* You know, if you were into that sort of thing and it was legal.
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