2020 NFL NFC West Predictions

NFC West Betting Odds and Forecast

The NFC West is home to consecutive NFC Champions, as the 49ers are looking to defend that title, as the Rams tried (and failed) at after their Super Bowl appearance after 2018. In between those two squads that have some pretty lofty 2020 goals, sits the Seattle Seahawks who have some lofty goals themselves. Seattle loves to ride Russell Wilson to how far he'll take them, and after his near-MVP season in 2019, hope is high for Wilson to have another great season.

Which leaves the lonely old Arizona Cardinals, who many believe pulled off the coup of the offseason, when they acquired WR DeAndre Hopkins for what's perceived to be far worse talent. Hopkins is a game-changer without question, and with a still-productive WR Larry Fitzgerald still in the mix, this Arizona team could be mighty dangerous.

Both the Seahawks and Rams will be chasing down the 49ers for the NFC West championship in 2020. (AP)

2020 NFC West Title Odds

• San Francisco (+115)
• Seattle (+225)
• L.A. Rams (+400)
• Arizona (+700)

It should be another wild year in the NFC West, as three of the four teams expect to make the playoffs and potentially go on a long run, while the fourth, Arizona, is looking to be sniffing the playoffs late in the year and be playing meaningful December football games at the worst.

The 49ers learned how important it is to have a healthy QB Jimmy Garoppolo in 2019, as he helped lead them on their path to being one bad fourth quarter away from being defending Super Bowl champs. And be that as it may, they still needed to win their final regular season game on the road in Seattle just to win this division crown last year. That speaks to where this division sits as a whole and what kind of potential those other three teams see in themselves in 2020.

2020 NFC Championship Odds

• San Francisco (+475)
• Seattle (+1100)
• L.A. Rams (+1600)
• Arizona (+2500)

Like in the AFC, the defending NFC champs enter 2020 as the favorite to do so again, as no other team in the NFC has a lower price then San Francisco's +475. The 49ers looked dominant through the majority of their playoff run a season ago, and if they get home field again, they'll be tough to overtake.

That doesn't mean rivals that know the 49ers well won't be interested or capable of knocking them off in the process, and that's what the Seahawks and Rams are hoping 2020 brings them. Hopefully a brand new venue opening up for the Rams isn't completely spoiled by the strong chance there won't be any fans there.

If it does end up being L.A. or Seattle that overtakes San Francisco in the NFC West this year, sleeping on those squads to make deep playoff runs may not be the best idea. Both will have been tested plenty to get to that point, and those two prices on either of them to make another playoff run can look tempting.

2020 Super Bowl 55 Odds

• San Francisco (+1000)
• Seattle (+2200)
• L.A. Rams (+3300)
• Arizona (+5000)

San Francisco deserves to come into the 2020 season as one of the favorites to win it all, but when that's the case, it's really hard to confidently back them for a Super Bowl future bet. It just can be so hard for the loser of the previous Super Bowl to match the success they had the previous year, and with how tough the 49ers division, and conference looks as a whole, there really isn't a whole lot of value in San Francisco here. But the Seahawks and Rams make some sense if those are one of the two teams you are behind as a bettor this year.

Either of those teams are priced in a spot where taking either of them is not hard to do if those teams live up to the expected belief of their strongest backers.

We've already discussed that both are extremely capable of being the retaking control of this division and from there go on a run against the best the rest of the conference has to offer. L.A. was just in a Super Bowl two years ago where they have some wrongs to write in their eyes, and Seattle's Russell Wilson would love to add another trophy to his legend in the Pacific Northwest. If bettors have been backing one of these sides with win totals 'overs' or division/conference winners, it does make sense to add a piece of the Super Bowl winner as well.

2020 NFC West Win Totals Odds

• San Francisco (10.5)
• Seattle (9.5)
• L.A. Rams (8)
• Arizona (7)

There are a lot of interesting NFL Wins Totals Odds across the board here, and plenty to talk about everywhere.

Seattle's 'over' 9.5 actually comes with a +110 price, as the favored side is not to see QB Russell Wilson be a MVP-caliber player for the entire year and continue to carry this team on his back. Seattle also ran into a crazy amount of positive luck last year going 10-2 SU in one score games, including 2-0 SU in OT games, and and 4-0 SU in games decided by a FG or less. Running that good just can't continue on forever, as the 'under' deserves to be favored there.

The rest of the teams all have cases to be made on both sides of their numbers, and it all hinges on the purported vision of the bettor in how they see this season going for those respective teams.

2020 NFC West Playoff Props

The intriguing thing about these NFL Playoff Prop Odds in the NFC West, is that although unlikely to happen, there is a case to be made to see a complete flip in the division and look to all four of those plus-money prices with each respective team. Seattle's likely luck regression has already been discussed, and we've already seen what kind of year this 49ers squad can have if they lose QB Jimmy Garoppolo for a major chunk of the year.

At the same time, the Rams ran away with this division in 2018, so it's not like they couldn't do the same in 2020, and have a much improved Arizona team on their coattails en route to a wildcard berth. It would be a scenario where a lot of different things would have to go right, but it's definitely a plausible one and one where even taking half of those plus-money selections in this division is worth the investment in research time.

2020 NFC West MVP Contenders

QB - Quarterback, RB - Running Back, WR - Wide Receiver, TE - Tight End, DL - Defensive Lineman

Quarterbacks lead the way unless you are the L.A. Rams, where oddsmakers have pegged your phenomenal pass rusher Aaron Donald as a more likely MVP candidate then the guy who will be touching the ball every play for half the game. It is hard to see Goff improve enough to be talked about as one of the best players in the game this year.

The other three QB's are worth a look though if they end up leading their respective teams to very productive seasons. Arizona's Kyler Murray might need to see he and his team take that big leap that Baltimore did with Lamar Jackson in 2019 to be seriously involved in NFL MVP Futures Odds conversations. But Murray is a phenomenal athlete in his own right and does have pieces in play to help him achieve that success.

2020 NFC West ROY Contenders

Offense

QB - Quarterback, RB - Running Back, WR - Wide Receiver

Defense

DL - Defensive Lineman, LB - Linebacker

It's two Arizona players here that deserve discussion here and for different reasons.

In terms of the one that's the best bet to back and is most likely to win an individual award in 2020, that would be LB Isaiah Simmons. The Clemson product wasn't a Top 10 pick by accident as he knows how to fly to the ball whenever he's on the field, and being on a defense where the team is looking at a 8-8 SU year as a successful one, Simmons should get plenty of opportunities to show off his talent.

The Arizona player worth mentioning is Arizona State product Eno Benjamin. Benjamin was a RB talent that was often overshadowed by his WR former teammate who's found his way to the NFC West as well – Brandon Aiyuk – and could be the ones who becomes the national name at the pro level.

Benjamin may get plenty of opportunities to touch the ball given the focus Arizona's outside receivers are going to get from opposing defenses, and if the Cardinals take off, well then Benjamin's stock likely will as well. Still probably won't be enough for him to legitimately be among the Rookie of the Year contenders, but Benjamin is set up for success in Arizona.

2020 NFC West Predictions

Best Bet/Value on NFC West Division Winner

Best Bet: L.A. Rams (+400)

The Rams appear to be one of the franchises that the betting market is generally down a bit on for 2020, as they are almost the forgotten ones in this division. Things tend to center on what this team has lost, and not what they currently have, and while the offense may not look the same without Todd Gurley anymore, this Rams defense has the chance to be sneaky dominant this year, and they'll get the recognition for it is they land on top of this division.

Can't trust the Seahawks to be legitimate players again with how over-dependant they are on Russell Wilson's performance on any given day, and blowing the Super Bowl the way the 49ers did could take some time to recover from, especially with minimal fan support boosting the cavalry.

There is no way teh Rams expect to open their new building with potentially no fans in the stands, but if L.A. just focuses on what's in front of them each week and takes care of business, they might be able to hang up a division championship banner here for the season opener in 2021.

Best Bet/Value on NFC Championship Winner

Best Bet: L.A. Rams (+1600)

Not sure this is a strong bet to make by any means, but if the Rams are the selection to win the NFC West, it makes sense to look to double down on L.A.'s futures here as well at the 16-1 price. Years that see Goff and/or Aaron Donald play above their individual prices in the MVP market, L.A. could be in their second Super Bowl in three years.

Best Bet/Value on Super Bowl 55 Winner

Best Bet: L.A. Rams (+3300)

It's completely the same story here, as this is not a play I'm really all that interested in making, but of all the NFC West choices, the Rams still appear to be the best one.

San Francisco and Seattle look to be somewhat overvalued based solely on how good their 2019 campaigns were, and we all know that the power struggle within divisions can flip easily in the NFL. The Rams know that feeling first hand, and if L.A. does get to Super Bowl 55, I doubt they'll let the memories of Super Bowl 53 be anything but pure motivation to go the distance this year.

Best Bet/Value for NFC West Season Win Totals

Best Over: L.A. Rams Over 8 wins

Pretty easy to know where I was going with this one, as any of those Rams futures that are, or are being considered to be backed start and end with them at least being better then a .500 football club.

L.A.'s third place schedule actually does them little favor with Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers being a non-common opponent among the rest of their NFC West brethren, with the always unfriendly Chicago Bears defense as the other team in that spot.

But L.A. can easily be .500 in their division games (3 wins), should at least be .500 in their four games vs AFC East foes, and should be at least .500 in their four games against NFC East teams. That conservative estimate already gives the Rams seven wins on the board, and if they are going to be the team that will break through as another NFC contender, LA will be much better then just break even in those contests.

Best Under: Seattle Under 9.5 wins

Not the hardest of decisions here, although San Francisco at 'under' 10.5 is a reasonable NFC West future wager to make here as well. In both cases, the numbers just appear to be a half game too high if you want to be realistic about it, as it's hard to figure both teams will 'run as well', to steal a poker term, as they did in 2019. But San Francisco is the more all-around team on both sides of the ball, and it's what ultimately kept them officially off this part.

Seattle just asks Russell Wilson to do way too much and is so valuable to the team's success that eventually that will catch up with an organization. And what happens if Wilson goes down and misses significant time? This Seattle team takes a huge hit in their ability to be competitive on a weekly basis. That's not to say I'm rooting for Wilson to get hurt, but the point is that even with him this number will be hard to surpass, without him it just won't get done.

Best Bets/Value for Yes/No in the 2020 NFL Playoffs

Best Value: L.A. Rams “Yes”

No need to divert off course here, as there is still a plus-money price on the Rams just to get into the playoffs, and I'll gladly step up and take that on a team I believe can win the division and potentially compete for the NFC crown again.

A little safety net on the Rams potentially missing out on the division but still being a wildcard team is never a bad idea to add to a portfolio.

Best Bets/Value for Individual Awards

• Best Bet MVP: Russell Wilson (+700)
• Best Bet OROY: Cam Akers (+2000)
• Best Bet DROY: Isaiah Simmons (+500)

I'm not looking to divert away from any of the favorites here, but is is Simmons who I do believe has the best shot of the group of winning one of these awards. He's got everything you could ask for in a DROY candidate with the opportunity to make plays, and the pedigree of a being a high draft choice from a prestigious football factory. Definitely a lot to like there.

Wilson is an interesting candidate because if I'm completely wrong on the Seattle regression coming in a big way this year, it will be because Wilson had a major hand in proving me wrong. Had Lamar Jackson not done what he did in 2019, Wilson would have likely been the MVP, and if he duplicates that effort this year, then some bettors will be cashing a +700 ticket here.