2026-27 NFL Betting Odds: NFC West Best Bets & Predictions

The NFC West has been home to some of the best teams in the NFL in recent years, with the winner advancing to the Super Bowl in eight of the last 14 seasons. This trend makes predicting the NFC West division winner more than just the best of those four teams. No, it makes that team a solid pick to go on to win Super Bowl 61.

So — who’s it going to be? Can Seattle run it back? Will the 49ers get the job done or will it be the preseason favorite Los Angeles Rams? What about the Cardinals (it felt rude not to at least mention them)?

(Photo by Rich von Biberstein/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)

I’ll try to answer all of those questions and more in a moment. But first, let’s go over the odds to win the NFC West.

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NFC West Division Odds & Best Bets

Here are the odds (via DraftKings) to win the NFC West division this season per DraftKings as we head into the second week of the preseason:

• Los Angeles Rams -105
• Seattle Seahawks +215
• San Francisco 49ers +305
• Arizona Cardinals +10000

It is the first time in three seasons that the 49ers are not the early favorite to win the division. San Francisco went on to win the division once in the last three seasons (2023). The 49ers were heavy favorites in the 2024 preseason (-210), but the Rams went on to win the division (+400). Seattle, last year’s division and Super Bowl winner, had the second-longest odds during the preseason at +550.

The Seahawks have actually won the NFC West more than any other team (10) in the division’s current configuration (since 2002). San Francisco has won the NFC West six times, the Rams five times, and the Cardinals three. Arizona has the longest ongoing drought with its last division win back in the 2015 season.

So — who’s going to win this year? How should you bet? Let’s look over my favorite, dark horse, and longshot picks.

NFC West Favorite: My Pick

How could I not go with the Rams? They had the No. 1 offense last season in total yards per game (394.6), passing yards per game (268.1), and in scoring (30.5 points per game). Oftentimes, when a team is that good in the passing game, its rushing attack suffers. But Los Angeles averaged 126.6 on the ground, good enough for seventh-best in the league.

But offense wasn’t the issue last season. The Rams struggled to get the big stops when they needed them most. In the regular season loss to the Seahawks, the Rams scored first in overtime (touchdown), but they couldn’t stop Sam Darnold on the ensuing drive. Seattle went on to score a touchdown and went for two to seal the win.

In the NFC title game, Darnold looked like an MVP candidate, throwing for 346 yards and three touchdowns. The offense isn’t without blame, but defense was an issue despite the unit finishing the regular season ranked No. 10 in points allowed per game (20.4).

To that end, they shored up the secondary by acquiring one of the top cornerbacks in the league, Trent McDuffie, to pair with Jaylen Watson. Then there was the move that generated some serious buzz: the acquisition of current Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.

The Rams were not a bad pass-rush team last season; they tied for seventh in the league with 47 sacks. But adding a player like Garrett will not only make the pass rush better, but also make everyone on the defense better.

My Pick: Rams at -105 (DraftKings)

Barring injury, the best offense in the NFL should be the best again. With the additions made in the offseason, a solid defense could become elite this season. Seattle and San Francisco will be good, but they can’t compete with the Rams this season. If you are going to bet on LA, I’d bet on them now. If they live up to the hype, this is the longest their odds to win the NFC West will be all year.

Should they happen to get longer, it will probably be because someone got hurt and they are falling out of contention.

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NFC West Pick: Darkhorse

• Seahawks +230 (DraftKings)

Arizona is the obvious choice for a long shot pick, but it is not as easy to designate the Seahawks or 49ers as a dark horse. Seattle won 14 games last season and the Super Bowl. San Francisco won 12 games only to lose to the Seahawks in the divisional round. I’m going to go with Seattle because of the loss of Kenneth Walker III and offensive coordinator Klint Kubiak.

The defense is returning largely intact and should be one of the better units in the league once again. But the offense is losing two very important pieces. It had a good blend of the running and passing games last season. Losing Walker is a blow to that, but Zach Charbonett may be able to pick up the slack. I’m more concerned about the loss of OC Klint Kubiak. He did a great job of blending the running and passing games, making it hard for defenses to focus on either.

New OC Brian Fleury has more time as a defensive coach on his resume than as an offensive coach. That makes it hard to know what the Seahawks' offense will look like under him. It could look just as dominant as it did last season, or it could be an absolute mess under a first-time coordinator with little experience on that side of the ball.

The defense will carry them in some games. But if the offense struggles to get it together (and I think it might), the Seahawks will fall out of contention fast.

NFC West Picks: Long Shot

• Cardinals +10000 (DraftKings)

I briefly thought about going with the 49ers here because they have a legitimate shot, but they are more of a Dark Horse II pick. They won 12 games last season; that would have been enough to win any other division in the NFC. With the talent coming back, they’ll be in contention again, but one thing has to happen: guys have to stay healthy. They were one of the most injured teams in the NFL last season and still won 12 games. If they can stay relatively healthy,  the sky is the limit for the 49ers.

A long shot pick cannot have that kind of potential. It needs to be a team with low expectations that must have a ton of things go right for them and a lot go wrong for everyone else. You know, a team like the Arizona Cardinals.

Arizona was the most injured team in the NFL last season, but that wasn’t the only reason they won just three games. There were several deficiencies on both sides of the ball and on special teams. Some were answered in free agency and in the draft. But we will not know how well until the regular season gets underway.

But what makes them a potential long shot to win the division in my mind is first-year head coach Mike LaFleur. He was on Kyle Shanahan’s staff in San Francisco from 2017 to 2020. After a brief stint with the New York Jets (2021-22), he served as the Rams' offensive coordinator under Sean McVay for three seasons (2023-25).

So, he’s learned from some of the best. Now, he doesn’t have the same caliber of talent in Arizona as he had in San Francisco or Los Angeles. But if he can unlock the talent that he has, the Cardinals could make an impressive turnaround in Year One. Does Arizona have a shot at winning the division?

Eh…I’d say about a 0.99% chance, but crazy things happen in the NFL all the time.