NFC divisional picks & best bets for the 2022 NFL season: Rams best in the West

Free American football tips, best NFC divisional bets and analysis for the 2022 NFL season, which starts on Thursday.

Best bets

LA Rams to win NFC West
4pts 13-10 bet365

Philadelphia to win NFC East
3pts 6-4 general

Minnesota to win NFC North
2pts 11-4 general

New Orleans to miss the playoffs
1pt 4-6 bet365

Division previews - NFC East

There hasn’t been a repeat champion for 18 years in the wild world of the NFC East and if that sequence is going to continue, the most likely outcome is that the Dallas Cowboys will hand the divisional crown to the Philadelphia Eagles.

Both teams made the playoffs last year, with the Cowboys coming out on top, but the Eagles look to have made more progress in the off-season, while Dallas have lost some of their stars.

The Eagles finished strongly in 2021 and it may not take too much improvement for them to land the division title this time.

Philadelphia have a great opportunity to get off to a quick start with their first four opponents being the Lions, Vikings, Commanders and Jaguars, with the main question mark being whether quarterback Jalen Hurts is good enough to lead a talented roster all the way.

The Cowboys appear to have taken a step backwards, with the decision to trade away wide receiver Amari Cooper among several puzzling moves, although young defensive stars Micah Parsons and Trevon Diggs should make further progress. A return to form for running back Ezekiel Elliott would be a real boost but he has been a major disappointment of late.

The jury remains out on the latest attempt to revive Carson Wentz’s career in Washington, even though the Commanders have plenty of talented individuals, while the New York Giants are also loading up with young talent, but the continued presence of QB Daniel Jones means they are unlikely to make the most of it.

Caleb Wilfinger

Recommendation
Philadelphia

NFC North

Speculation over Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers' future has dominated the conversation in the NFC North for the last few years, but after all that he's still there heading into the 2022 season while leading receiver Davante Adams has left.

Adams' trade to the Raiders left Green Bay's cupboard looking alarmingly bare at wide receiver, although they have high hopes that rookies Christian Watson and Romeo Doubs can help to fill the void.

The Packers have a stronger defence than they have had for a long time, with a stout secondary in particular, but there are vulnerabilities there that make the Minnesota Vikings a value bet to overhaul them this season.

The Vikings are looking up under new head coach Kevin O'Connell, who looks set to open up their offence even more with solid veteran Kirk Cousins passing to receiving superstar Justin Jefferson, while Dalvin Cook leads their ground attack.

It's hard to see a challenge coming from the other two teams in the division. The Detroit Lions will have plenty of neutral support after the entertaining performances of charismatic head coach Dan Campbell on the Hard Knocks series. The talent level of the roster is improving, but it should take time to come together.

Similarly, the Chicago Bears look likely to make progress over the next couple of seasons under their new head coach Matt Eberflus, but it's highly unlikely to happen fast enough for them to become a factor in the divisional race this year.

Phil Agius

Recommendation
Minnesota

NFC South

Tom Brady is back for a third season with Tampa Bay after retiring for 40 days in March. The 45-year-old has a new head coach in Todd Bowles after Bruce Arians actually did retire, or rather move to a desk job with the Bucs, but if his body holds up, the odds suggest another NFC South title is there for the taking.

The prices are hard to argue with, as the Bucs' rivals don't look up to much in one of the NFL's weakest divisions.

Until Brady left the Patriots to join the Buccaneers, the New Orleans Saints had enjoyed a three-year stretch of domination from 2017 to 2019 in which they were largely untroubled in the NFC South. The Saints triumphed again in 2020, although the Bucs claimed a wildcard spot and went on to win the Super Bowl.

Tampa Bay comprehensively ended New Orleans' reign last season and it's hard to see a different outcome this year. The Atlanta Falcons and Carolina Panthers have largely been bystanders in recent seasons and that is expected to be the case again in 2022.

The best bet involving a team from this division may be taking New Orleans to miss the playoffs. They did so last year and don't yet have a convincing successor to Drew Brees in place at quarterback, with Jameis Winston set to start this year. They have a really tough schedule to overcome and it's hard to see them posting a record good enough to grab a wildcard place.

Ricky Dimon

Recommendation
New Orleans to miss the playoffs

NFC West

The Los Angeles Rams were the last team to win the NFC West in successive seasons in 2017 and 2018 and the new Super Bowl champions have a great chance of keeping at least the divisional crown this year.

It is not always easy for teams to follow up a Super Bowl win, but the Rams' losses have been relatively harmless, with Odell Beckham Jr and Von Miller the main departures, and star wide receiver Cooper Kupp has plenty more to give.

The Rams arguably have a greater margin for error in the division this year, with Seattle basically having taken themselves out of the race by trading away Super Bowl-winning QB Russell Wilson and making little attempt to find a replacement of similar quality.

The San Francisco 49ers are always a threat with their defence and running game under Kyle Shanahan but they are gambling on new starting QB Trey Lance being up to the job, when there has been little evidence yet that he is. While their system relies less on passing heroics than most other teams, it’s a major concern for their potential backers.

The Arizona Cardinals may have blown their best chance of glory by collapsing after last season’s red-hot start, and there is still a suspicion that the Cards have been winning in spite of head coach Kliff Kingsbury rather than because of him.

All in all, odds-against offers for the Super Bowl champions to beat three teams in their division who might well be regressing look hard to turn down.

Phil Agius

Recommendation
LA Rams

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