The NFL season is getting closer and closer to its end, with Week 14 up next. Betting on games is a great way to make money, but splashing some cash on futures is also a fantastic option. The AFC Championship futures aren’t really favoring any team in particular right now, but the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are a slim frontrunner at +200. Right behind them are the Baltimore Ravens (+300), the Miami Dolphins (+400), and then the Jacksonville Jaguars at +750. At this point, it’s probably down to these four teams as to who represents the AFC in the Super Bowl in February.
KC has won three of the last four AFC Championships. That’s impressive in itself. And although Patrick Mahomes hasn’t had so much offensive help in 2023, anything is possible when he’s under center. The Chiefs are 8-3 and sit at the top of the AFC West. They followed up a loss to the Eagles with a win against the Raiders in Week 12. In fact, Kansas City has been in the AFC Title Game for five years straight. You can pretty much expect them to be there again, but it remains to be seen if they’ll win it. We’ll see if the WR room and Travis Kelce can step up their play.
Ravens (+300)
The Ravens are always a good team, as long as Lamar Jackson is healthy. He is the definite X-factor for Baltimore, who have one of the best offenses in the league. Lamar is the reason they’re tops in rushing yards. He’s a running back in a quarterback’s body, rushing for 574 yards and 5.1 yards per carry to go along with 2,618 passing yards. There’s a lot of weapons around Jackson and the defense is second-best in numerous categories. The Ravens could honestly win a Super Bowl this year, but they will probably need to get by the Chiefs just for the chance to represent the AFC.
Dolphins (+400)
When you watch this Miami team, the first thing that comes to mind is offense. I mean, Tua Tagovailoa is absolutely balling out and it helps when you have an elite duo out wide in Tyreek Hill and Jaylen Waddle, two of the best receivers in the entire NFL. The Dolphins are 1st in total yards, passing yards, and 2nd in points with 30.8 per game. They’re essentially unstoppable. The Eagles and Chiefs were about the only ones who were able to limit Miami. Philly won’t get in the way but Kansas City probably will en route to a potential Super Bowl. The Chiefs found a way to stop Tyreek in that game, though. That was the difference-maker. Defensively the Dolphins aren’t great, but they’re not awful, either.
Jaguars (+750)
We got a glimpse into how special Jacksonville was last season when they made a bit of a playoff run. This year, Doug Pederson’s team looks like they could be a real contender. Trevor Lawrence has completed 67.3% of his passes for 2,746 yards and 12 touchdowns. His seven interceptions aren’t fantastic, but he’s only had one game where he threw multiple picks. On both sides of the ball, Jacksonville is honestly just a fundamentally sound club that finds a way to win ball games. They’re well on their way to winning the AFC South, too.
Bills (+1600)
It’s probably too little too late for the Bills, who lost a heartbreaker in Week 12 to the Philadelphia Eagles. That leaves them as a long shot to even make the playoffs at all. That’s extremely disappointing for a team that is full of star power and has an elite quarterback in Josh Allen. But, the reality is Buffalo didn’t get it done when it mattered most. Winning the AFC East is impossible at this point with the Dolphins playing so well. It’s actually a bit surprising to see the Bills with +1600 odds considering where they’re at in their season. It’s not over yet, but it’s hard to imagine Buffalo even getting a chance to play for an AFC Championship.
AFC Championship Futures Picks
It’s still too early to just focus on one team in the AFC Championship futures. That’s why I’m eyeing the Dolphins and the Chiefs. You can never count out Kansas City.
Quinn Allen is a journalist who specializes in writing sports betting previews. He holds a senior editor position at ClutchPoints. He has been contributing to Vegas Betting as a writer since 2022.