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Patriots unsurprisingly given best odds to make 2019 playoffs

By Patrick Morgan

HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots gives a thumbs up on the field prior to Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images)
HOUSTON, TX - FEBRUARY 05: Head coach Bill Belichick of the New England Patriots gives a thumbs up on the field prior to Super Bowl 51 against the Atlanta Falcons at NRG Stadium on February 5, 2017 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Patrick Smith/Getty Images) /
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Of all 32 franchises in the NFL, the New England Patriots overwhelmingly have the best odds of making this year’s playoffs.

The last time the New England Patriots missed the NFL playoffs, the following was all true:

  • President George W. Bush was still in the White House
  • Barack Obama had just defeated the late John McCain to become President-Elect
  • Michael Jackson was still alive
  • “Avatar,” the highest-grossing film of all time, had not yet been released
  • Tom Brady was out for the season, recovering from a torn ACL and MCL in his left knee

It’s hard to believe that since then, the Pats have reeled off 10 straight division championships, appeared in eight straight AFC Championships, and won an additional three Super Bowl championships since the original three they captured in the early 2000s to begin their dynastic run.

What isn’t so hard to believe, given all that, is that the Patriots are almost a lock for the 2019 playoffs in the latest release of odds, courtesy of Caesars by way of Bleacher Report and FanSided’s own Cody Williams.

According to the table of probabilities, New England’s odds of making the playoffs this season are more than double that of the next-best team: the Kansas City Chiefs, whom the Patriots defeated last year in the AFC Championship Game to advance to Super Bowl 53. The team the Pats beat in that Super Bowl, the Los Angeles Rams, have the third-best odds of making the postseason once again.

https://twitter.com/br_betting/status/1143274240172363776

Amongst the rest of the 32 NFL franchises, only the New Orleans Saints, Los Angeles Chargers, Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, and Pittsburgh Steelers are considered “favorites” to punch their playoff tickets this season.

Of that group, the Browns stand out as the only team that did not participate in the 2018 postseason.

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Of course, part of the reason the Patriots are annually favored to make the playoffs is because they typically play in a terribly weak division. In the AFC East, the New York Jets have the second-best odds of making the playoffs… but they still check in at No. 22 out of 32 teams in the grand scheme of the NFL. The Buffalo Bills rank just below them at No. 24, while the Miami Dolphins have the absolute worst odds of all 32 teams to make the 2019 playoffs.

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