NFL against the spread picks: Looking at the updated Super Bowl odds

Since the NFL is already carving "Denver Broncos" into this season's Lombardi Trophy, there's probably no use in checking the Super Bowl odds almost halfway through the season.

But let's do so anyway, for kicks.

It's hard to figure out who the second-best team in the NFL is. Which means that there should be value in the Super Bowl odds, just in case the Broncos blow it in the playoffs again (I know, hard to imagine). Here are the odds for every semi-legitimate contender (the Raiders are 3000-to-1, if you feel like setting your money on fire), from Bovada via OddsShark.com, before Thursday's game:

Denver Broncos, 3-to-1
Again, this was before Thursday's game. It's not good value to take any team in Week 8 at 3-to-1 to win the Super Bowl, no matter how far Denver is ahead of the rest of the NFL.

Green Bay Packers, 8-to-1
Interesting that the Packers are the second favorite. Considering that if the season ended today, they wouldn't even be NFC North champs.

Dallas Cowboys, 9-to-1
I do believe the Cowboys are good. I do also believe you're never getting good odds on anything relating to the Cowboys. I don't know if they're America's Team, but they are Las Vegas' Team.

Seattle Seahawks, 9-to-1
Hmm. Two weeks ago, you'd have jumped all over this. And i think by the end of the year this will look like a steal.

Indianapolis Colts, 12-to-1
Our second AFC favorite. With that easy schedule, could they steal the No. 1 seed? Maybe. Could Andrew Luck pull off a colossal upset even if it's in Denver? Sure. If you believe Peyton Manning will choke in January, this looks pretty good.

New England Patriots, 12-to-1
Injuries piling up, but I wouldn't blame you if you liked this.

San Diego Chargers 12-to-1
I like the Chargers well enough but I'm not feeling it. Not sure how they get past the other three AFC teams already listed.

San Francisco 49ers, 14-to-1
The argument for it: Aldon Smith, NaVorro Bowman, Patrick Willis will all be back soon.

Philadelphia Eagles, 16-to-1
If you're asking me who the second-best team in the NFL is right now, the Eagles are my answer. So yeah, I like this.

Baltimore Ravens, 18-to-1
Pass.

Arizona Cardinals, 20-to-1
Nah.

Detroit Lions, 28-to-1
They're technically in first in the NFC North, thanks to the tiebreaker (for now) against the Packers. They've gotten almost nothing out of Calvin Johnson yet. the defense is pretty nasty. Yeah, it's still the Lions, but 28-to-1? That'll go down, and soon. After the Eagles, this seems like the best number on the board.

Cincinnati Bengals and New Orleans Saints, 33-to-1
We'll lump them both together because this is the cutoff for making any remote case for a Super Bowl contender. And right now it's a stretch for the Bengals. But consider that the Saints are 2-4. First place in the NFC South is 3-3-1 Carolina. It's not like they're dead. And I'm not saying the Saints are gonna roll through the playoffs if they get in, but I do know you wouldn't want to face Drew Brees in January either.

Who do you like out of that group? While you decide about the game on Feb. 1, we'll look at some picks for Week 8:

Broncos (-8.5) over Chargers (picked Thursday): They're really good right now.

Lions (-3.5) over Falcons: Call the oddsmakers, there's a misprint! This should be -13.5 and not -3.5, right?

Bengals (+1) over Ravens: I can't justify it based on how the Bengals have played the last three weeks. But I still think there's a good team in there somewhere.

Texans (-3) over Titans:

Zach Mettenberger might be good at some point. I don't think he'll be good in his first start.

Rams (+7) over Chiefs: Maybe the Rams have figured some things out.

Bears (+6) over Patriots: With some key injuries on the Patriots defense, at some point all of this Bears offensive talent has to produce something, right?

Jets (-3) over Bills: A 1-6 team favored by a field goal over a 4-3 team? Seems like they're inviting you to take the Bills, right?

Buccaneers (-2.5) over Vikings: The Bucs have been terrible, but the Vikings offense is pretty bad.

Panthers (+5) over Seahawks: I'll regret this when it becomes clear this is Seattle's "never underestimate the heart of a champion" game.

Dolphins (-6) over Jaguars: An 0-6 team gets its first win. Is that a sign of a turnaround? Typically, no.

Eagles (+2.5) over Cardinals: Simply think the better team wins.

Browns (-7) over Raiders: The time to catch the Browns on a letdown was last week. And the Jaguars did. It won't happen twice.

Colts (-3) over Steelers: Remember those Super Bowl odds up top? If you like the Colts, grab them now, because they're going to embarrass the Steelers on Sunday.

Saints (-1.5) over Packers: Saints are 0-4 on the road and 2-0 at home. That's who they have been, that's who they are. That's who they'll continue to be on Sunday.

Cowboys (-9.5) over Redskins: A lot of points to lay, but I'm not picking Colt McCoy.

Last week: 6-9
Season to date: 51-55

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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at shutdowncorner@yahoo.com or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab