Broncos tied atop NFL Bettors' Poll

Power ratings for all 32 NFL teams from handicappers going into Week 16

Originally Published: December 18, 2012
By Dave Tuley | ESPN Insider

LAS VEGAS -- The San Francisco 49ers' 41-34 win over the New England Patriots on Sunday night has made them the Super Bowl favorite in Nevada sports books, but it didn't quite elevate them to the top of the NFL Bettors' Poll. The poll is ranked by the combined power ratings of Teddy "Covers" Sevransky of sportsmemo.com, Sal Selvaggio of madduxsports.com and yours truly, Dave Tuley, and while the 49ers moved up a half-point and the Patriots dropped by the same, the Pats still are ahead (barely) and tied with the Denver Broncos.

Obviously, a lot of people will point out that the 49ers beat the Patriots, but we could go up and down the standings like that. We continue to rate teams on their relative power ratings and how they would compare on a neutral field.

This week, it was difficult to grade those ratings with so many blowouts. It's important to take those into account while not overreacting. The New York Giants and Tampa Bay Buccaneers dropped just half a point each off their 34-0 and 41-0 road losses to the Atlanta Falcons and New Orleans Saints, respectively. Meanwhile, the Baltimore Ravens (who have been trending downward lately) dropped a full point with their 34-17 home loss to the Broncos.


To see the Vegas handicappers' power ratings of all 32 NFL teams, plus where the value is in the early lines this week, become an ESPN Insider today.

Dave Tuley

ESPN Insider
Dave Tuley has covered the Las Vegas race and sports book scene since 1998 and runs his own website, ViewFromVegas.com.

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