Week 10 of the 2021 NFL season has just been completed, with the final fixture of the round being between the San Francisco 49ers and the Los Angeles Rams. Just 2 weeks ago, this would have looked like a routine win for the Rams, as they were on an impressive run, with an overall record of 7-1.
However, things started to go wrong against the Arizona Cardinals, as they suffered some key injuries. The replacements they brought in against the 49ers, including former Cleveland Browns wide receiver Odell Beckham Jnr, did not work out for them, as they lost this match up 31-10. The Rams will be struggling to make the playoffs at this rate.
Other interesting games this weekend saw the Cardinals take on the Carolina Panthers. The Panthers welcomed back former star quarterback Cam Newton to the side, following his exit from the New England Patriots. Despite barely knowing the playbook, he performed incredibly well against the Cardinals, scoring 2 touchdowns. The Panthers now have an outside chance of making one of the wildcard places, if they can carry on this good form. Certainly, one to keep an eye on for betting fans.
Newton and co. will be hoping their NFC South rivals the Tampa Bay Buccaneers continue their bad form. Again, they are another side who started the season very strongly but appear to be fading away at just the wrong moment. Despite being the current Super Bowl champions, they did not have what it takes to stop the New Orleans Saints, losing 36-27, before looking pretty miserable against the Washington Football Team. They are still odds on to make it to the playoffs, so bettors will still be interested in them, but they don’t look like the powerhouse they were a few weeks ago.
One team that fans will use their sports betting app to check odds for is the Baltimore Ravens, who are in the AFC North. Let’s take a look at their season so far in a bit more depth, and then look at their upcoming fixtures, to see if they have some strong odds to suggest they will be one of the teams who make it into the postseason.
The season so far
Given the Ravens made it into the 2020/21 playoffs, getting to the Divisional round before being beaten by the Buffalo Bills, their fans and coaches would have been hoping that they could carry on this positive momentum going into this season. So far, they have not been disappointed.
They began the campaign with a loss, against the Las Vegas Raiders. Obviously, it is not ideal to have a 0-1 record, but sometimes an opening day defeat can help to refocus the minds. Clearly, that is what happened, as they then won their following 5 fixtures.
It was an even contest against the Kansas City Chiefs, but they just edged it to win 36-35. The next week was another close-run thing, this time against the struggling Detroit Lions, but again the Ravens found a way to win, with the final score ending up 19-17. They then easily dispatched the Denver Broncos (23-7) and had a slightly closer game against the Indianapolis Colts (31-25) before really looking strong against the Los Angeles Chargers (34-6). At this point, they were a bettor’s dream, as they would always have favorable odds to secure a victory.
It was in the AFC North fixture against the Cincinnati Bengals where things took a bit of a bad turn, as they were humbled 41-17. They picked things up in week 8, narrowly defeating the Minnesota Vikings, but then in the most recent game, they lost 22-10 to the Miami Dolphins. Given how poor the Dolphins have been for large parts of the season, this result would have been very difficult to take.
Looking ahead to their remaining fixtures
Despite these few bad results, they are still on top of the AFC North, ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Bengals, and the Browns. They have to face all 3 of these sides at least once more before the season ends, so it will be in these games where their fate is truly decided.
Their next game is against the Chicago Bears, which on paper should be one of the easiest remaining fixtures. The Bears are currently 3-6 and haven’t won any of their last 4 games. Should the Ravens win here, and the Steelers fail to beat the Chargers, then things will be looking much more positive down in Baltimore.
The Ravens have been a great source of entertainment this season so far, and we really hope to see them carry on into the postseason. Will this happen, or will it all come crashing down in the final weeks? You’ll have to tune in to find out.
