NFL Futures Picks: Who'll Finish with the NFL's Best Record?

When the Arizona Cardinals lost at home against the Los Angeles Rams on Monday, that left three NFC teams tied with the best record in the NFL at 10-3. We make our NFL futures picks for the end of the season.

FanDuel Sportsbook has odds on which team will finish the season with the best record. On FanDuel, dead-heat rules apply, so if two teams are tied for the best record, the stake is cut in half, and the odds pay out on half of that stake.

Is there a path for one of these three teams to pull ahead and finish with the NFL's best record?

Let’s examine the remaining schedules for the top three contenders.

NFL Standings

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Picks for the NFL's Best Record

Buccaneers (+120)

The Bucs have won four straight games and scored at least 30 points in all four. They're left with a favorable schedule through the final four weeks of the season. 

Tampa Bay is a 10.5-point favorite at home against the New Orleans Saints this week and FanDuel has the Bucs as 11-point favorites in Week 16 at the Carolina Panthers. Week 17 at the New York Jets might be the closest matchup they have left, considering the Bucs will be at home against Carolina in Week 18.

New Orleans is at least a lively underdog with running back Alvin Kamara back in the lineup and QB Taysom Hill presenting his own unique challenges. The Saints downed the Buccaneers 36-27 on their home field in Week 8.

Carolina might have provided tougher competition, but with running back Christian McCaffrey out for the season and a mess of a quarterback situation between Cam Newton and P.J. Walker, the Panthers appear quite vulnerable down the stretch.  

That leaves the Jets, a team with one win over the last six weeks and it came at the Houston Texans in Week 12. 

Tampa Bay has lost three road games this season: at the Rams, Saints, and Washington Football Team.

The most likely outcome is that the Bucs win all four games which would naturally put them in the pole position.

Packers (+350) 

The Packers have a more challenging schedule. They are favored by 4.5 points at the Baltimore Ravens in Week 15 before home games against the Cleveland Browns and Minnesota Vikings. 

The Ravens lost back-to-back games and QB Lamar Jackson’s status for this week is uncertain, but they have an 8-5 record and are leading the AFC North.

With a 7-6 record, the Browns are still in the playoff picture, so they are not likely to be an easy matchup, either. QB Baker Mayfield was one of many Browns players to test positive for COVID-19 this week. That could throw some uncertainty into Cleveland's status for Week 16.

The Vikings are 6-7, and not as likely to be in the playoff mix, but they have a positive point differential, so they are not necessarily a pushover, either.  

Green Bay will be favored in each of those games but not to the same degree as Tampa Bay will be in its matchups. 

The Packers have three road losses this season, at the Saints, Chiefs, and Vikings.

Should the Packers make it through the next three weeks unscathed, they would have a Week 18 matchup at the Detroit Lions, who have the worst record in the NFL.

Cardinals (+400) 

Prior to the Monday night loss to the Rams, the Cardinals were in control of the race to the best record. Now, they need help. Seeing what awaits the Buccaneers and Packers, it is going to be difficult for the Cardinals to hurdle them.

Arizona is a 12.5-point favorite at Detroit in Week 15. However, a home game against the Indianapolis Colts and a road game against the Cowboys in the following two weeks will present major difficulties. 

Arizona is a 4.5-point favorite against Indianapolis on the early lines. The Colts will be a competitive opponent still battling for a playoff spot, and then Week 17 is on the road against a Cowboys team that is leading the NFC East, and only a game behind the Cardinals in the standings. If the Cardinals manage to make it through those three games, a Week 18 home game against the Seattle Seahawks may not be the easiest matchup now that QB Russell Wilson appears to be back in form the past couple of weeks.

Arizona’s three losses this season have all come at home, against the Packers, Panthers, and Rams.

Under these circumstances, with the remaining schedules for these top three teams, the reigning Super Bowl champion Bucs are the clear favorites to finish with the best record this season and it will take a major upset to shift that position.

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