LAS VEGAS -- The New England Patriots rallied and then held off the Seattle Seahawks 28-24 in a thrilling Super Bowl XLIX that could have gone either way. With the coin-flip finish, the NFL Vegas Rankings still have the Seahawks as the top-rated team heading into the off-season and the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook agrees with Seattle a slight favorite to win Super Bowl 50.
The NFL Vegas Rankings, which use the combined power ratings of ESPN Insider's NFL handicappers, Erin Rynning of sportsmemo.com, Sal Selvaggio of madduxsports.com and yours truly, have the Seahawks half a point ahead of the Patriots, with the Green Bay Packers another half-point back.
We've updated the power ratings for all 32 teams with the knowledge that a lot will happen in the coming weeks and months -- including teams releasing players, signing free agents, drafting rookies, etc. But it serves as a basis for evaluating how teams evolve during the offseason -- and for those looking for values to make bets in the near future.
Our panels' ratings pretty much coincide with the future-book odds at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook for next year's Super Bowl. The SuperBook lists Seattle as the 5-1 favorite, followed by New England at 6-1, Green Bay at 7-1, Denver at 8-1, Indianapolis at 12-1 and Dallas at 14-1. Our panel ranks Dallas ahead of Indy.
The main purpose of this annual column is to find the best value bets in the future book for those looking to play those at this time. Two years ago, I tabbed Seattle as the best bet at 12-1, and the Seahawks came through. The exercise didn't work as well last year, when I bet the Saints at 14-1 and they failed to make the playoffs.
