Posted on: February 13, 2023, 02:32h.
Last updated on: February 13, 2023, 02:32h.
The Monday morning sports talk radio shows in metropolitan New York were all about pregnant Rihanna, her belly-rubbing thing, and zebras at Super Bowl 57. Which gives you a fairly good idea how how high — or low, as the case may be — the hopes of the Giants and the Jets are for next season.
Aaron Rodgers’ four days of darkness may change that. But the week began with a sense of doom after New Yorkers watched Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs and the referees defeat the Philadelphia Eagles, 38-35, in what was a very entertaining championship game that was not without its flaws.
Everyone who watched from beginning to end learned a little about faulty sod, the maddening nature of replay reviews, and why some commercials are actually worth watching. They heard nary a word about the Jets, Giants, or the Buffalo Bills, the three teams that folks in different parts of New York will start paying attention to many months from now.
For the truly hopeful, the Giants were on the board today at DraftKings at +4000, the Jets at +2800 and the Bills at +700 to emerge as the winner of Super Bowl 58. The favorite? Take a wild guess.
FOR. THE. LEAD. pic.twitter.com/Qqq8DefGx6
— Kansas City Chiefs (@Chiefs) February 13, 2023
What on the 2023-24 NFL Board is Most Surprising?
The team that dominated the divisional round and the NFC Championship game and the first half of the Super Bowl, the Philadelphia Eagles, were surprisingly listed as the +900 fourth choice at DK, along with the Cincinnati Bengals, trailing the Chiefs (+600), Bills (+700), and 49ers (+800).
Fan Duel listed the top five as Kansas City (+600), Buffalo (+850), and Philadelphia, San Francisco, and Cincinnati (+900)
Caesars had the top five: Chiefs (+550), 49ers (+600), Bills (+650), Eagles (+800) and Bengals (+900), while Bet MGM had them Chiefs (+600), Bengals (+850), Bills, Eagles and 49ers (+900).
PointsBet had it Chiefs (+550), Bills (+600), 49ers (+750), Eagles (+800) and Bengals (+900). BetRivers ranked them Kansas City (+600), Buffalo and Philadelphia (+700), San Francisco (+800) and Cincinnati (+1000), and Resorts World had them Chiefs (+500), Bills (+600), Niners (+750), Eagles (+800) and Bengals (+900). WynnBet and BallyBet did not have NFL Futures markets live Monday.
The longest odds available on the Jets were +3500 at BetMGM. For the Giants, the longest were at +4500 at PointsBet, BetRivers, and Resorts World.
What is strange here is that the Giants were a far superior team than the Jets, despite getting crushed 38-7 by the Eagles on Jan. 21 in the playoffs. The last time we saw Gang Green, we witnessed this.
Zach Wilson IS GETTING BOOED By Jets Fans 👀 pic.twitter.com/EmTy5CBnLs
— NFL Daily (@SportsContent23) December 23, 2022
What’s Next For Wilson? Are Jets a Possibility for Rodgers?
The Jets have said publicly they are going to pursue a veteran quarterback, and they have their eyes on Rodgers. The New York Post has reported on preliminary trade discussions. The big question is whether Rodgers wants to continue playing and would like to leave Green Bay. Rodgers is going on his four-day “darkness retreat” starting Monday.
Last week on “The Pat McAfee Show,” Rodgers said he would contemplate his decision while on the retreat. “I’ve got a pretty cool opportunity to do a little self-reflection in some isolation,” Rodgers said. “And then after that, I feel like I’ll be a lot closer to a final, final decision.”
Live look at Aaron Rodgers pic.twitter.com/IgMp3DZBwL
— IKE Packers Podcast (@IKE_Packers) February 13, 2023
The Jets just hired Nathaniel Hackett as their offensive coordinator. Hackett was Rodgers’ offensive coordinator in Green Bay from 2019-21, and the two have a close relationship. The Jets cannot wait around forever for Rodgers, though, and NFL Network reported on Sunday that Derek Carr has told the Raiders he will not waive his no-trade clause and wants to be released.
So if you want an answer as to why the Jets are rated more highly than the Giants, that is probably the answer.
What About the Bills
Josh Allen and crew had their moments this season, the worst of which was the Monday night game in which Damar Hamlin had to be brought back to life by team doctors after collapsing against Cincinnati on January 2.
A 27-10 loss to the Bengals in the divisional round ended their season in inglorious fashion. But their 13-3 record was the second-best in the NFL, and not a lot of tinkering needs to be done. It all went south very quickly in the snow during the divisional round, when Joe Burrow completed his first nine passes for 105 yards as Cincinnati raced to a 14-0 lead after its first two possessions.
Hey, bad losses happen to every team except one team, and this year it was the Chiefs. Sports is cruel.
Look at it this way, Giants, Jets, and Bills fans: Could you imagine if that crucial holding call had gone against your team in the final two minutes last night? Had that happened, there would now be a second Philadelphia.
It needed to be said.
Thank you, @MBarkannNBCS!
“Utter complete bullshit” – Michael Barkann pic.twitter.com/AOaoQAl1dI
— DIE-HARD 🦅 Fans (@Eaglesfans9) February 13, 2023
Here’s the bright side: Pitchers and catchers report for the Mets on Wednesday, and for the Yankees on Thursday. The Knicks play host to what remains of the Nets tonight at Madison Square Garden, and Leon Rose got himself a player in Josh Hart. Brian Daboll will not be a rookie head coach next season for the Giants, and if Daniel Jones and Saquon Barkley can be kept in free agency, it ain’t all that bad. So in that way, at least, New York>Philadelphia.
