Odds courtesy of OddsShark.com

NFL owners recently officially approved the league adding one playoff team to each conference this season and going forward, meaning there will be seven teams from both the AFC and NFC to play extra football. In theory, that improves each team’s chances of making it and would improve each team’s betting odds of doing so this season.

But, that’s just mathematically. Does it really improve the Cincinnati Bengals’ chances of making the postseason in 2020? They were the NFL’s worst team last year, and are +625 to make it this year and -1300 to miss again.

The additional playoff spot will shorten the odds a bit for the better teams. For example, the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs are -1900 to make the playoffs for a sixth straight season and +750 to miss. Almost worth betting a few dollars on no just in case Patrick Mahomes suffers a major injury.