Denver Broncos 2014 Super Bowl favorites: Wanna bet?

Watching Ray Lewis acting like the king of the world after playing a thoroughly ordinary game, and seeing Joe Fluke-o named MVP after the Baltimore Ravens' Super Bowl victory yesterday was enough to make me nearly throw up my seven-layer dip. Fortunately, Las Vegas sports books give our Denver Broncos a helluva shot at winning next year's championship. But are they the favorites? Depends on who you ask.

Yesterday afternoon, the Denver Post published an item declaring the Broncos the co-favorite of oddsmakers at the MGM Grand Race and Sports Book: Both Denver and San Francisco, which came out short against the Ravens, were listed at 5 to 1.

But as we know, such figures fluctuate wildly even a full twelve months ahead of time -- and already, two lines we've seen have the Broncos failing to hold the top spot.

FootballLocks.com gives the Broncos the third best chance to win the Super Bowl, with Denver, at 8 to 1, behind the New England Patriots (6 to 1) and those 49ers (7-1).

Here's the full roster. Note that the Ravens are at 14 to 1 -- an indication that gambling prognosticators have no faith in the team, either.

Arizona Cardinals +$10,000 (100 to 1) Atlanta Falcons +$1,600 (16 to 1) Baltimore Ravens +$1,400 (14 to 1) Buffalo Bills +$10,000 (100 to 1) Carolina Panthers +$5,000 (50 to 1) Chicago Bears +$3,000 (30 to 1) Cincinnati Bengals +$3,000 (30 to 1) Cleveland Browns +$6,000 (60 to 1) Dallas Cowboys +$3,000 (30 to 1) Denver Broncos +$800 (8 to 1) Detroit Lions +$4,000 (40 to 1) Green Bay Packers +$1,000 (10 to 1) Houston Texans +$1,000 (10 to 1) Indianapolis Colts +$4,000 (40 to 1) Jacksonville Jaguars +$15,000 (150 to 1) Kansas City Chiefs +$5,000 (50 to 1) Miami Dolphins +$5,000 (50 to 1) Minnesota Vikings +$4,000 (40 to 1) New England Patriots +$600 (6 to 1) New Orleans Saints +$1,600 (16 to 1) New York Giants +$2,000 (20 to 1) New York Jets +$5,000 (50 to 1) Oakland Raiders +$15,000 (150 to 1) Philadelphia Eagles +$5,000 (50 to 1) Pittsburgh Steelers +$1,400 (14 to 1) San Diego Chargers +$4,000 (40 to 1) San Francisco 49ers +$700 (7 to 1) Seattle Seahawks +$1,200 (12 to 1) St. Louis Rams +$5,000 (50 to 1) Tampa Bay Buccaneers +$6,000 (60 to 1) Tennessee Titans +$10,000 (100 to 1) Washington Redskins +$3,000 (30 to 1)

The odds for the big three are identical over at the Belmont book: The Patriots are 6 to 1, the 49ers are 7 to 1, the Broncos are 8 to 1. But Oddshark boosts the Broncos into a tie with the 49ers, albeit at 7 to 1, with the Patriots a whisper behind, at 15 to 2. Here's the Oddshark list:

Denver Broncos 7/1 San Francisco 49ers 7/1 New England Patriots 15/2 Green Bay Packers 10/1 Baltimore Ravens 12/1 Houston Texans 14/1 Seattle Seahawks 16/1 Atlanta Falcons 18/1 Chicago Bears 18/1 New Orleans Saints 18/1 Pittsburgh Steelers 18/1 New York Giants 20/1 Dallas Cowboys 25/1 Washington Redskins 30/1 Philadelphia Eagles 33/1 San Diego Chargers 33/1 Cincinnati Bengals 35/1 Detroit Lions 35/1 Minnesota Vikings 35/1 Indianapolis Colts 40/1 New York Jets 40/1 Carolina Panthers 50/1 Kansas City Chiefs 50/1 Miami Dolphins 50/1 St. Louis Rams 50/1 Tampa Bay Buccaneers 50/1 Cleveland Browns 66/1 Tennessee Titans 66/1 Arizona Cardinals 100/1 Buffalo Bills 100/1 Oakland Raiders 100/1 Jacksonville Jaguars 150/1

Our own take: Peyton Manning and the Broncos are going to be pissed about this year's missed opportunity, and not at all reassured by the fact that the team that knocked them out of contention went on to take it all. Moreover, the last time something like this happened -- Denver's 1997 first-round defeat to the highly mediocre Jacksonville Jaguars -- the Broncos went on to win its first Super Bowl the very next season.

It's thoughts like these that will help us get through the next six months or so.

More from our Videos archive: "Videos: Five Broncos playoffs defeats more vomit-inducing than loss to Ravens."