Odds to win the Super Bowl 2013

Now that we know the road each would have to go through to reach the pinnacle of the sport this upcoming season, it’s now time to begin speculating about which clubs have the best chances of winning Super Bowl 2013. It’s certainly worth noting that Super Bowl XLVII will take place on Sunday February 3rd, 2013 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

Last season, we witnessed the New York Giants use a late-season surge to build enough momentum to run roughshod right through the NFC Conference. With road victories at Atlanta, Green Bay and San Francisco, the G-Men the latest team to enter the postseason as a huge underdog to reach football immortality.

As they prepare to defend their second title in four years, the Giants got a surprise from the NFL: New York has been given the toughest schedule of any team in the league. Shortly after seeing what awaits him and his troops this season, longtime Giants head coach Tom Coughlin spoke about having the most demanding schedule in the NFL.

“We will have a week-in and week-out challenge, not only in who we play, but with the different elements of our schedule,” he said. “We play on four different days and we have five night games. Our first three games are Wednesday-Sunday-Thursday. We play two road night games early, come home for a week and then go to San Francisco. Our people are going to have to be really good about it.”

How difficult does the G-Men’s road back to the title seems? Just to give you an idea, NFL oddsmakers currently have them listed behind 8 different teams in the odds to win the Super Bowl 2013! Check out the top-10 betting favorites to hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy come February of next year:

• Green Bay Packers: 5/1
• New England Patriots: 7/1
• San Francisco 49ers: 8/1
• New Orleans Saints: 10/1
• Houston Texans: 10/1
• Baltimore Ravens: 12/1
• Philadelphia Eagles: 12/1
• Denver Broncos: 12/1
• New York Giants: 12/1
• Pittsburgh Steelers: 15/1

As you can see, the Packers are destined to win their second Super Bowl in three years, should these odds prove to be correct. With the core of the team pretty much intact, it’s not hard to believe it won’t take long for Aaron Rodgers & Co. to get back to the top of the mountain. This week, No.12 addressed having what many people are calling the second easiest schedule in the NFL this year.

“The first thing I looked at is when we play in Chicago, because that’s annually the worst weather we deal with,” the reigning MVP told Jim Rome during a recent interview. “We got a break last couple of years playing them early on in the season. This year we’re back on December 16th. I like to look at the last 4 or 5 games and see if we have any potential real cold-weather games and it looks like we do.”

Despite the fact that last year’s 13-0 start eventually left nothing to show for in terms of winning a championship, Rodgers still believes the key to success for the upcoming season is getting out of the gate on the right foot. Furthermore, unlike most people’s perception about how easy the Packers’ schedule seems to be, the Super Bowl XLV MVP completely disagrees with those opinions.

“We play the Giants, the Niners and the Saints… the Niners out of the gate and then a few days later we’re playing Chicago at home and then Seattle on the road,” he added. “Those first three are going to be tough ones for us. We started last year really hot, but it’s going to be tough with those three opponents. We’re going to have to play good early in the season.”