Feb. 5 (Bloomberg) -- Peyton Manning still has some doubters, even after winning the Super Bowl.

The San Diego Chargers, not Manning's Indianapolis Colts, are listed as 9-2 favorites to win next year's Super Bowl after posting a National Football League-best 14-2 regular-season record in 2006, according to Las Vegas Sports Consultants, which advises Nevada sports books on their betting lines.

The newly crowned champion Colts and Manning, the Super Bowl's Most Valuable Player, are at 5-1, the second choice among the NFL's 32 teams.

``The Chargers were clearly the best team this season, and they're probably not going to look much different next year,'' Mike Seba, a senior oddsmaker at Las Vegas Sports Consultants, said in a telephone interview.

San Diego was the favorite to win this year's Super Bowl when the playoffs began. Led by NFL Most Valuable Player LaDainian Tomlinson and his record 31 touchdowns, San Diego scored an NFL-best 30.8 points a game, then lost 24-21 to the New England Patriots in the playoffs.

As 9-2 favorites, a winning $2 wager on the Chargers would yield a profit of $9.

Champion Colts

The Colts defeated the Chicago Bears 29-17 last night for their first Super Bowl victory since the 1970 season when the franchise was in Baltimore.

``It's the old story about how hard it is to repeat,'' Seba said. ``A lot of people bet against the Super Bowl winner.''

Chicago, which was the best team in the National Football Conference throughout the season, is 7-1 to win its first championship since 1985. The New England Patriots, who won titles in 2002, 2004 and 2005, are 9-1.

The New Orleans Saints and Cincinnati Bengals are 12-1, followed by the Baltimore Ravens at 14-1 and the Seattle Seahawks at 15-1.

The New York Jets are favored above the Giants, with New York's American Football Conference team at 28-1 while the Giants are 30-1.

The Oakland Raiders, who had the NFL's worst record last season at 2-14, have the longest odds to win the NFL championship next season, at 150-1.

San Diego ended the regular season with a 10-game winning streak to secure a first-round bye and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. They went 8-0 at home before blowing an eight-point fourth-quarter lead against the Patriots.

The Chargers made their lone Super Bowl appearance after the 1994 season, losing to the San Francisco 49ers 49-26. The franchise has a 7-13 record in the postseason, and hasn't won a playoff game since 1994. Their coach, Marty Schottenheimer, has a 5-13 record in postseason games with the Chargers, Kansas City and Cleveland, and has lost six straight playoff games.

To contact the reporter on this story: Larry DiTore in New York at lditore@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: February 5, 2007 13:31 EST