Undefeated Cardinals are still being undervalued by bettors

There’s an oddity in National Football League futures wagering that I simply cannot ignore. It involves two NFC West teams and an odds flip that, on the surface, doesn’t seem to make much sense.

Cardinals are odds-on favorite to win NFC West

In divisional futures, the Arizona Cardinals are a heavy favorite. After a 6-0 start that has included five offensive explosions of at least 31 points, the Cards are -125 to win the NFC West. Behind them are the LA Rams, who are +140. Remember those numbers, because it’s going to get weird soon.

Rams are ahead of Cardinals on Super Bowl odds board

In Super Bowl betting, the Buffalo Bills and Tampa Bay Buccaneers are co-favorites at +550, with the Kansas City Chiefs close behind at +700. The fourth choice, however, is not the Cardinals, but the Rams, who sit at +900. The Ravens are +1000, and the Cardinals are currently perched at +1100, which makes them the sixth choice to win it all.

This baffles me. If bettors think the Cardinals can beat the Rams in the race for a division title, why don’t they think they can do the same in the playoffs, especially with home-field advantage locked down?

This isn’t an indictment on the Rams, or any other team in the NFC. The Rams seem revitalized on offense behind new quarterback Matthew Stafford, and a deep playoff run wouldn’t be a surprise.

Arizona presents excellent value to bettors

My observation is strictly mathematical: If you think the 6-0 Cardinals are for real, you can get them as the sixth choice right now, behind a team in their division they’ve already beaten. Add in that Arizona will be heavy favorites in three of their next four games and could conceivably top the Packers, and I don’t think you’ll want to wait.

If you like the Cards, I’d advise you to wager now before this anomaly disappears from the board.