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What to expect in 2020 from last season's best, worst NFL teams ATS

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A lot can change over the course of an offseason.

Overachieving or underachieving squads tend to revert back to the mean, while personnel moves and coaching hires can transform a team from the depths of mediocrity to division winners.

Let's take a look at the best and worst NFL teams against the spread last season and see what sort of changes can be expected from them in 2020.

The best

Baltimore Ravens (11-5)

When Lamar Jackson starts, the Ravens have a regular-season ATS record of 14-7-1. Oddsmakers caught on to Baltimore's dominance in the latter half of last season, but the adjustments hardly mattered, as the team marched to an 8-1 finish ATS. We'll either see some incredibly high lines early in the year, or the Ravens will continue to prove to be a gold mine for bettors.

New Orleans Saints (11-5)

The Saints have had a winning ATS record every season since 2014, when they finished 6-10 ATS. They've won at least 10 games ATS in three of the last four seasons. New Orleans added some important pieces on both sides of the ball this offseason, meaning we should expect much of the same from the Saints in 2020.

Arizona Cardinals (10-6)

Year 2 for the Cardinals under Kliff Kingsbury is shaping up to be an exciting one. Kyler Murray should have a better understanding of the offense in his sophomore season, plus he's got some exciting new toys to work with and an improved offensive line. Arizona might be the offseason's most improved team.

Green Bay Packers (10-6)

The Packers were nowhere near as good as their record indicated in 2019. They've been billed as likely regression candidates in 2020, and with the team doing next to nothing to improve this offseason, it's hard to argue against that.

Kansas City Chiefs (10-6)

With a regular-season ATS record of 65-45-2 as Chiefs head coach, last year's 10-6 finish is par for the course for Andy Reid. We can expect a similar finish for the defending Super Bowl champions this season.

The worst

Los Angeles Chargers (4-11-1)

After underachieving in 2019, expect the Chargers to be quite undervalued by oddsmakers this season. The general public will write this team off after Philip Rivers' departure, but the 38-year-old doesn't shift the needle much. L.A.'s defense is terrific, and this is still an excellent roster that should be able to comfortably win nine games, even with mediocre quarterback play. I'm buying the Chargers this season.

Cleveland Browns (4-10-2)

In the Browns' defense, the Baker Mayfield era hasn't been given the best chance of success with Hue Jackson and Freddie Kitchens. New head coach Kevin Stefanski has learned from a number of elite offensive minds during his 14 seasons with the Minnesota Vikings and could be the perfect guy to help Mayfield and this Cleveland offense reach its potential.

Detroit Lions (5-10-1)

After a promising 4-1 start ATS, the Lions finished 2019 on a 1-9-1 run. It's about what we should expect from Matt Patricia's team, which followed the same trend in his first season in charge in 2018. A healthy Matthew Stafford would help in this regard - he missed the final eight games of last season.

Chicago Bears (5-10-1)

Coming off of an NFC North title in 2018, the Bears, who were significantly overvalued last season, saw their campaign derailed by Mitch Trubisky's struggles. With a more accurate reading on what to expect from Chicago in 2020, expect a regression to the mean for the Bears as sportsbooks adjust lines accordingly.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers (5-9-2)

All of last season's stats can be thrown out the window for the Buccaneers. With Tom Brady in town and the bandwagon filling up, the public is infatuated with the Bucs, who could prove to be a strong fade candidate again in 2020 as a result.

Alex Moretto is a sports betting writer for theScore. A journalism graduate from Guelph-Humber University, he has worked in sports media for over a decade. He will bet on anything from the Super Bowl to amateur soccer, is too impatient for futures, and will never trust a kicker. Find him on Twitter @alexjmoretto.

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