2022 NFL odds: Green Bay Packers favored to win NFC North again

The NFC North continues to run through the Green Bay Packers until proven otherwise.

Despite losing star receiver Davante Adams, Green Bay enters the 2022-23 NFL season as the betting favorite to win the NFC North. The Packers are priced at -170 to win the division via Caesars Sportsbook, which is the official odds partner of Bet Chicago Sports.

This should come as no surprise, even if quarterback Aaron Rodgers will have to find a new go-to target. The Packers have won the NFC North with a 13-win campaign in each of the last three seasons. Rodgers is the back-to-back MVP, while head coach Matt LaFleur has established himself as one of the better play callers in the entire league.

What is interesting is the Packers’ price to win this division. At -170, Green Bay’s implied odds to win the division is nearly 63%.

For comparison, the Packers closed at -165 to win the division just before last year’s season opener, according to the database at sportsoddshistory.com. The Packers were +200 to win the NFC North in the final days before the 2020 season, and were +225 (behind Minnesota) in September of 2019.

As a result, oddsmakers seem to be giving the Packers the benefit of the doubt entering this upcoming season. This is a team that projects to have one of the better defensive units in the league and strong rushing attack to lean on while Rodgers gets familiar with his new receivers.

The Minnesota Vikings figure to be the Packers’ biggest threat in the division, entering the year with +250 odds to finish on top of the NFC North for the first time since 2017. The Vikings have come in second in the division in three of the past four years.

First-year coach Kevin O’Connell, who took over after two seasons as offensive coordinator for the Los Angeles Rams, is tasked with getting more out of this offense. He once served as quarterback coach for Kirk Cousins when they were both in Washington.

The Detroit Lions are the trendy sleeper this summer, especially since the team has been featured on HBO’s Hard Knocks. The Lions are +900 to win their division, a feat they haven’t accomplished since the 1993 season.

Detroit, which has finished last in the NFC North in each of the last four years, has received plenty of bets to dethrone the Packers. The Lions went 3-13-1 with a -142 differential last year.

The Bears are +1300 to win the NFC North for the first time since 2018. Only the New York Jets (+2200), Atlanta Falcons (+3500), Seattle Seahawks (+1800) and Houston Texans (+3500) have longer odds to win their respective division.

Per these betting odds, the Bears have an implied 7.14% chance of finishing on top of the NFC North in Matt Eberflus’ first year at the helm. It is important to remember that there are surprise teams every year, including a Cincinnati Bengals squad that had a preseason price of 25/1 before winning the AFC North last year.