Packer Central

Lombardi: Bettors Overlooking Packers

Are the Green Bay Packers really the worst team in the NFC North, as the Vegas odds suggest?

Bill Huber

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GREEN BAY, Wis. – With Jordan Love playing the role of Rodney Dangerfield, the Green Bay Packers are getting no respect.

“The Packers are getting zero respect in the betting market,” Michael Lombardi wrote for the sports gambling site VSiN.

That lack of respect is especially evident at DraftKings Sportsbook.

To win the Super Bowl, the Packers are +6500. Those are the longest odds among the NFC North teams and tied for the seventh-longest overall.

To win the NFC North, the Packers are +475. Those also are the longest odds; the Detroit Lions are a huge favorite at +130, the defending champions Minnesota Vikings are +230 and the Chicago Bears, fresh off a three-win season, are +425.

To qualify for the playoffs, the Packers are +190. Again, those are the longest odds among the NFC North squads.

Lombardi, a former NFL scout and executive who is not related to legendary Packers coach Vince Lombardi, understands why the Packers are a team shrouded in mystery. Is Love any good? Are the young playmakers up to the task? Can coach Matt LaFleur win without Aaron Rodgers? Can the defense prove the end of 2022 wasn’t fool’s gold?

But, Lombardi said, what makes the Bears better than the Packers entering the 2023 season? Has quarterback Justin Fields proven himself to be better than Love? Certainly, the Bears aren’t better at running back. Their defense was one of the worst in the NFL last season; the Packers are better “on every level” in that phase, Lombardi wrote. Green Bay’s Keisean Nixon is a game-changer on special teams.

Green Bay’s Aaron Jones-led running game and potentially strong defense should keep the team in games.

“Because of the hoopla surrounding the Rodgers departure,” Lombardi wrote, “the perception and national narrative have the Chicago Bears with better odds to win the North. This narrative is completely out of whack.”

If you agree with Lombardi (and live in a state where sports betting is legal), DraftKings has a special offer in which new customers who place a $5 bet get $200 in bonus bets. A winning bet of $5 on the Packers winning the NFC North would produce a profit of $23.75.

Click here for the full story from VSiN.

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Bill Huber
BILL HUBER

Bill Huber, who has covered the Green Bay Packers since 2008, is the publisher of Packers On SI, a Sports Illustrated channel. E-mail: packwriter2002@yahoo.com History: Huber took over Packer Central in August 2019. Twitter: https://twitter.com/BillHuberNFL Background: Huber graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater, where he played on the football team, in 1995. He worked in newspapers in Reedsburg, Wisconsin Dells and Shawano before working at The Green Bay News-Chronicle and Green Bay Press-Gazette from 1998 through 2008. With The News-Chronicle, he won several awards for his commentaries and page design. In 2008, he took over as editor of Packer Report Magazine, which was founded by Hall of Fame linebacker Ray Nitschke, and PackerReport.com. In 2019, he took over the new Sports Illustrated site Packer Central, which he has grown into one of the largest sites in the Sports Illustrated Media Group.

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