3 NFL Futures Bets to Make After a Wild Start to the Season

We’re three weeks into the NFL season, enough time to draw plenty of conclusions, but not enough to be confident in them.

That’s where most of the futures betting opportunities are at this point in the year: hedging against market overreactions based on unexpectedly fast or slow starts.

Here are three of our top futures wagers to make before Week 4 commences, and all three follow that logic to some extent.

Los Angeles Rams to win NFC West (+265, DraftKings)

The Rams are 1-2 after a second-half collapse in Denver, and have been without star receiver Puka Nacua and pass rusher Myles Garrett.

They’ve also already lost to the 49ers, meaning the best they can do is even the head-to-head tiebreak.

But the team that was everybody’s preseason darling is suddenly a commodity worth buying low, at odds that suggest a less than 1-in-3 chance they will emerge as division winners.

Nacua could be back as soon as this week. Garrett should return a few games before the Rams’ Week 11 bye. The 49ers have consistently struggled with later-season injuries. And the Rams' schedule eventually eases following games against Philadelphia and Buffalo in Weeks 4 and 5.

If there’s any reason not to make this wager, it may be to wait on an even lower price if the Rams lose either of those next two.

Chicago Bears to win NFC North (+390, FanDuel)

Writing off the Bears this early makes even less sense than the Rams.

Caleb Williams’ hamstring injury may be worse than initially feared, but the next month’s schedule is relatively gentle.

Case Keenum’s debut Chicago performance as Williams’ backup probably isn’t sustainable. It also may not be needed to get wins against the Jets and Patriots at home or the Falcons and Jets on the road.

And so far, the Bears have the best point differential in the division against the toughest schedule any of those four teams has played.

The loss to the Vikings in Week 2 hurts the tiebreaker scenarios. But there’s plenty of time for Williams to get healthy before the rematch in Week 18.

Los Angeles Chargers over 6.5 wins (-105, BetMGM)

The Chargers have lost three straight to begin a season that many thought would include a challenge to Denver and Kansas City for AFC West Superiority.

And while that ship may have already sailed, don’t expect the second team in Los Angeles to go down without a fight.

Head coach Jim Harbaugh has never failed to post a .500 record in the NFL. And even with defensive coordinator Jesse Minter departing to coach the Ravens after last season, the defense has played respectably.

It’s the relationship between quarterback Justin Herbert and new offensive coordinator Mike McDaniel that looks stalled, but maybe expecting that partnership to blossom instantly was naive.

The division is a reach, but the Chargers will get back into this thing, or at least approach .500 before the season’s end.