Who are the biggest betting long shots to win the Super Bowl?
The 1999 St. Louis Rams were 150-1 long shots in the preseason to win the Super Bowl after starting quarterback Trent Green suffered a season-ending knee injury.
Kurt Warner, who took a job stocking supermarket shelves after going undrafted in 1994, replaced Green at quarterback and suddenly transformed the Rams into “The Greatest Show on Turf.”
Warner earned NFL MVP honors during a spectacular 13-3 regular season and also was named Super Bowl MVP after leading the Rams to a 23-16 win over the Tennessee Titans in the 2000 Super Bowl.
The Rams are the biggest betting long shots to win the Super Bowl, according to Sportsoddshistory.com, which has tracked Super Bowl odds dating back to 1977.
Here are the six other biggest preseason long shots to win the Super Bowl:
2007 New York Giants, 30-1
The Giants qualified for the postseason as a wild-card team and won three playoff games on the road to reach the Super Bowl. New York knocked off the top-seeded Cowboys and second-seeded Packers before ruining the Patriots’ bid for a 19-0 season. Helped by David Tyree’s “Helmet Catch” of an Eli Manning pass, New York drove for a winning touchdown in the final seconds to stun New England in a 17-14 upset in the 2008 Super Bowl.
1982 Washington Redskins, 35-1
After a winless preseason, Washington went 8-1 in a strike-shortened regular season and rolled through the postseason, winning all four games by double digits, including a 27-17 victory over the Dolphins in the 1983 Super Bowl. Running back John Riggins finished with 38 carries for 166 yards and a go-ahead 43-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter.
1980 Oakland Raiders, 35-1
After Raiders starting quarterback Dan Pastorini broke his leg five weeks into the season, backup Jim Plunkett replaced him as starter and guided Oakland to nine wins in 11 games and a wild-card playoff berth. Plunkett then led the Raiders to four playoff wins, culminating with a 27-10 victory over the Eagles in the 1981 Super Bowl. Plunkett threw for 261 yards and three touchdowns to earn the Super Bowl MVP award. Raiders cornerback Lester Hayes had 18 interceptions in 19 games, including the playoffs.
2017 Philadelphia Eagles, 40-1
The Eagles improved from 7-9 in 2016 to 13-3 and beat the Falcons and Vikings in the playoffs before upsetting the Patriots 41-33 for the first Super Bowl title in franchise history. Quarterback Nick Foles, who replaced starter Carson Wentz after Wentz suffered a season-ending injury late in the year, was named Super Bowl MVP. Foles threw for 373 yards and three TDs, and also caught a 1-yard TD pass on a trick play known as the “Philly Special.”
1981 San Francisco 49ers, 50-1
The Niners went 13-3 en route to their first winning season in five years and first playoff berth in nine years. Quarterback Joe Montana threw a last-minute TD pass to Dwight Clark that became known as “The Catch” and lifted San Francisco past the Cowboys in the NFC title game. The Niners then beat the Bengals 26-21 in the 1982 Super Bowl, the first of five Super Bowls won by the franchise.
2001 New England Patriots, 60-1
The Patriots improved from 5-11 in 2000 to 11-5 in 2001, when Tom Brady replaced starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe after Bledsoe was injured in the second game of the regular season. Brady led New England to 11 wins in the final 14 games of the season as the Patriots became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after starting the season 1-3. New England beat the Raiders in the infamous “Tuck Rule Game” in the divisional playoffs and upset the Steelers on the road in the AFC title game to reach the Super Bowl.
The Patriots then upset the heavily favored Rams 20-17 in the 2002 Super Bowl when Adam Vinatieri kicked a 48-yard field goal as time expired. It was the first of six Super Bowl titles won by New England with Brady and coach Bill Belichick.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
