Stakes Analysis: Stakers Pick Division Favorites

The NFL preseason is up and running, and we’re now less than three weeks out until the games begin! The narratives for this fall are already beginning to take shape, so we thought we’d take a look at one of the most basic of them all: Who do Stakers think is going to win each division? We asked you, and here are the teams the community was most confident in entering September:

Not too many surprises to be found here. Everyone and their mother expects the defending champs to run away with one of the weaker divisions in the league, and the incumbent Super Bowl losers pulling nearly 69% of the vote is pretty impressive in what should be a competitive NFC East. The confidence in the 49ers might seem a little bit surprising, given their major question mark at QB, but Stakers don’t seem to think the Rams, Cardinals, or Seahawks pose much of a threat. Meanwhile he Jaguars are possibly the only team in the NFC South with legitimate championship aspirations, and while other teams in the AFC North and East managed to pull a fair number of votes, the Bengals and Bills are still the clear-cut favorites.

That’s only one side of the coin, of course. Here’s a look at what teams Stakers believe have virtually no shot at a division title this year:

Sheesh, that new Commanders owner sure has their work cut out for them. And oh, how the mighty have fallen! Can you IMAGINE even three years ago seeing the Patriots and the Steelers at these depths? Bill Belichick and Mike Tomlin might be two of the best coaches of this generation, but they’ve sure got their work cut out for them too.

As does Sean Payton, who’s tasked with revitalizing Russell Wilson’s career after last year’s disaster, but Stakers still just don’t see it happening with the Broncos. Stakers also seem to think the Texans still have a ways more to go than their top-of-the-draft counterparts, as 5.5% think the Bears can take the NFC North. Finally, is it too early to pour one out for the Jimmy Garoppolo experiment in Las Vegas? Probably not, but Stakers think we might as well.

That’s all for these week’s analytics! Check back here next Friday and in the Stakes in-app Feed over the course of the week for more data and information on what calls the Stakes community is making!