The Kansas City Chiefs have been a dominant regular-season team since handing the keys over to superstar quarterback Patrick Mahomes, and that’s very unlikely to change in 2021.
But that doesn’t mean Kansas City is guaranteed to walk away with the best regular-season record this fall.
Let’s take a look at the odds for the NFL’s best and worst records and see where the Patriots land.
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Who is the favorite to finish with the NFL’s best record in 2021?
After finishing an NFL-best 14-2 last season, Mahomes and Co. are favored to secure the league’s top record once again at +400, according to our partner, PointsBet. Over the last three seasons, the Chiefs are 37-8 with Mahomes under center and have made two trips to the Super Bowl.
But the team that beat Kansas City in Super Bowl LV could be their biggest threat to repeating as the top regular-season team. The reigning champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers have +600 odds of claiming the best record. Tom Brady and the Bucs went 11-5 before going on to win the franchise’s second-ever Super Bowl. Tampa Bay is even returning all 22 players who started in the Super Bowl.
The Buffalo Bills, whose 13-3 record was second-best behind K.C. in 2020, have the third-best odds of finishing with the top record at +1000. Josh Allen made a huge leap in Year 3, establishing himself as one of the game’s best signal callers.
New England Patriots
Right behind Buffalo are the San Francisco 49ers (+1100) and Baltimore Ravens (+1200) to round out the top five contenders. The 49ers are getting several top players back from injury, highlighted by Jimmy Garoppolo and Nick Bosa, after a 6-10 finish last year. However, a quarterback change to No. 3 overall pick Trey Lance is looming.
The Ravens, on the other hand, have no quarterback uncertainty entering 2021. Former MVP Lamar Jackson boasts an impressive 30-7 record as Baltimore’s starter, and was victorious in the final five 2020 regular-season games to go 11-5 overall.
The New England Patriots have much shorter odds of finishing with the league’s best record (+3800) than the worst (+8500). After having their 11-year postseason streak snapped last season with a 7-9 finish, the Pats went on a free agent spending spree to improve their roster. But the Week 1 starter quarterback is still unknown, as Cam Newton and No. 15 overall pick Mac Jones are competing for the job.
Who is the favorite to finish with the NFL’s worst record in 2021?
On the other end of the spectrum, the Houston Texans are the favorite to finish with the league’s worst record at +225. Houston went 4-12 last season, and that was with Deshaun Watson suiting up for every game. Watson’s status for 2021 is up in the air, as he’s currently being investigated by the NFL due to the 22 civil lawsuits and 10 criminal complaints of alleged sexual misconduct that he’s facing. Veteran Tyrod Taylor is the top quarterback on Houston’s depth chart after Watson.
The Detroit Lions have the second-shortest odds to post the worst record at +300. Detroit, who won five games last season, swapped out longtime Lion Matthew Stafford for Jared Goff at quarterback and interim Darrell Bevell for Dan Campbell at the head coaching position.
While things might finally be looking up for the New York Jets with a potential quarterback of the future in Zach Wilson and a promising new head coach in Robert Saleh, this season could still be a rough one in the win-loss department. The Jets have recorded five or fewer wins in four of the past five seasons, and have +850 odds of finishing in the league’s basement this year.
Joe Burrow looks ready to return from his torn ACL injury by Week 1, but his Cincinnati Bengals may not be ready to take the next step just yet. The Bengals have +1000 odds to finish with the worst record for the second time in three years.
Best record
Kansas City Chiefs, +400
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, +600
Buffalo Bills, +1000
San Francisco 49ers, +1100
Baltimore Ravens, +1200
Green Bay Packers, +1500
Los Angeles Rams, +1600
Cleveland Browns, +1600
Seattle Seahawks, +1700
Dallas Cowboys, +2500
Indianapolis Colts, +2500
Los Angeles Chargers, +2700
New Orleans Saints, +3200
Miami Dolphins, +3200
Tennessee Titans, +3500
New England Patriots, +3800
Denver Broncos, +4500
Washington Football Team, +4500
Arizona Cardinals, +5000
Minnesota Vikings, +5000
Atlanta Falcons, +5000
Pittsburgh Steelers, +6500
Chicago Bears, +7000
New York Giants, +10000
Carolina Panthers, +12500
Philadelphia Eagles, +12500
Las Vegas Raiders, +15000
Jacksonville Jaguars, +15000
Cincinnati Bengals, +20000
Houston Texans, +20000
New York Jets, +25000
Detroit Lions, +25000
Worst record
Houston Texans, +225
Detroit Lions, +300
New York Jets, +850
Cincinnati Bengals, +1000
Philadelphia Eagles, +1300
Jacksonville Jaguars, +1300
Las Vegas Raiders, +1600
Carolina Panthers, +1800
Denver Broncos, +2200
New York Giants, +2200
Chicago Bears, +3200
Washington Football Team, +3700
Minnesota Vikings, +5000
Atlanta Falcons, +5000
Pittsburgh Steelers, +5500
Arizona Cardinals, +6000
Green Bay Packers, +7500
New England Patriots, +8500
New Orleans Saints, +8500
Miami Dolphins, +9000
Tennessee Titans, +9000
Indianapolis Colts, +10000
Los Angeles Chargers, +10000
Dallas Cowboys, +15000
Cleveland Browns, +20000
Seattle Seahawks, +20000
Los Angeles Rams, +22500
Kansas City Chiefs, +25000
Tampa Bay Buccaneers, +25000
Buffalo Bills, +25000
San Francisco 49ers, +25000
Baltimore Ravens, +25000
Editor's note: All odds are provided by our partner, PointsBet. PointsBet is our Official Sports Betting Partner and we may receive compensation if you place a bet on PointsBet for the first time after clicking our links.