Despite The Worst 2019-20 Super Bowl Odds, Do The Redskins Have A Brighter Future Than Other Teams Near The Bottom?

Though you may recognize him from his Fanposts, we’re very pleased to introduce James Faris, who will be doing some writing for Hogs Haven this year. James is a junior journalism major at James Madison University and a life-long Redskins fan. While he’s too young to remember the team’s glory days, his favorite Redskins memory is seeing Robert Griffin III lead Washington to a playoff berth in 2012 after a 3-6 start to the season. Make him feel welcome!

In a league of great parity like the NFL, nothing’s truly impossible.

That notion, combined with an extraordinary — and likely delusional belief — in the 2019-20 Redskins could allow bettors to turn $100 into $17,600, provided Washington wins the Super Bowl this season.

According to Bleacher Report Betting on Twitter, those +17500 odds from Caesar’s Palace are the worst in the league to win the Super Bowl. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Arizona Cardinals, and Miami Dolphins, as well as the Cincinnati Bengals, join the Redskins at the bottom with odds +15000 and +12500, respectively.

Anyone betting on one of these long shots?

(Odds via @CaesarsPalace) pic.twitter.com/f45NQdbq5J

— B/R Betting (@br_betting) July 27, 2019

Certainly, reasonable people can agree that these teams have no reasonable chance to win the Super Bowl, though there is a historical precedent for a huge underdog winning it all.

The 1999 St. Louis Rams won the Super Bowl as massive preseason underdogs at +15000, which remains by far the largest longshot to cash out in NFL history. It’s worth noting that the Rams’ odds were so long 20 years ago because quarterback Trent Green was lost for the season after a gruesome leg injury, which forced a young, unproven future Hall of Famer named Kurt Warner into action.

Even the most optimistic Redskins fans shouldn’t get carried away analogizing Washington’s current situation with The Greatest Show on Turf. Yes, the Redskins lost quarterback Alex Smith to a brutal leg injury, which will likely force Dwayne Haskins, an untested rookie, into action under center at some point.

It’s highly unrealistic to expect Washington to contend this season, but it’s surprising to see the ‘Skins at the bottom of the list in the eyes of oddsmakers at Caesar’s Palace. Vegas Insider gives Washington the third-worst odds to win the Super Bowl at 100-1, along with the Giants, Jets, Buccaneers, Titans, Lions, Bills, and Bengals with the Cardinals at 300-1 and the Dolphins at 500-1.

When it comes to making the playoffs, the Redskins find themselves in familiar company at the bottom of the list. According to The Action Network, Washington’s playoff odds are +525 to make the playoffs and -750 to miss it. In other words, a bettor confident the Redskins won’t be a 2019-20 playoff team would risk $750 to profit $100 while a bettor banking on the team’s upside would profit $525 with a $100 bet. Those odds are slightly better than Cincinnati’s (+650, -1000), Arizona’s (+1100, -2500), and Miami’s (+1200, -3000).

Of course, these Super Bowl and playoff odds are only for the upcoming season and don’t factor in a team’s trajectory. This begs the question: How do the Redskins fare against other underdogs, both this season and in the future?

Which of these teams — Washington, Tampa Bay, Cincinnati, Arizona, Miami — will be the next to make the playoffs, and will any of them defy the odds and make it in 2019-20?