Four Super Bowl Longshots

Figure 1 Could we have a surprise Super Bowl winner this season?

This year is supposed to belong to the Buffalo Bills. After those excruciating four consecutive Super Bowl losses at the start of the 1990s, the Bills seemed like a cursed team that would never be able to throw off the embarrassment to challenge for the championship again.

But all is looking good for Buffalo this year, as the NFL regular season nears the halfway point. It will still have the likes of Kansas City to contend with, but it is enjoying a healthy winning record so far. This football season has been anything but predictable though. There are more than a few teams that have done better than expected – and we thought we would look at some of the longshots when it comes to Super Bowl betting.

Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are one of those teams who always seem to be challenging for a playoff spot, without ever really looking like they could go all the way. They also have an unenviable record – like the Bills – of making it to a number of Super Bowls in their history but never winning the big game.

Most pundits thought that Minnesota looked good this season but would struggle to break through the pack with Kirk Cousins at QB. The Green Bay Packers were just about a unanimous pick for the NFC North as well. But now Cousins has led the Vikes to a 5-1 start and the Packers trail by two games already. Minnesota has a relatively easy run-in too – so this one team to definitely keep an eye on.

Indianapolis Colts

The general consensus was that the Bills and Chiefs would fight it out for supremacy in the AFC this season. That still looks to be the case, to be honest. But there are a number of teams making a few moves in the Conference. In an overlooked AFC South, it is the Colts that could cause a surprise.

After winning Super Bowl XLI and then losing the championship game three years later, the Colts have not really looked like one of the best teams in the league. It hasn’t even made the playoffs in two of the last three years. But Indianapolis is currently keeping up with the Titans in the division and could sneak into the postseason.

New England Patriots

When Tom Brady left the New England Patriots it was the end of an era. Bill Belichick is undoubtedly a great coach but the fact that the Bucs won the Super Bowl as soon as Brady joined them did suggest that he was blessed with a great player rather than a Super Bowl-winning gene.

There have been just two wild card playoff losses in the postseason since Brady left for sunnier climes. But this season the Pats are keeping up with the rest. They are probably unlucky to be in a division with the Bills, the Dolphins and a resurgent Jets (of more later). But a few divisional wins could really change the way the AFC East looks.

Figure 2 New York fans have had something to smile about for once

New York Jets or Giants

As it so rare for New York football fans to get excited about their teams, we thought we would include both the Jets and the Giants in our longshot guide. Both teams were expected to do better than usual – but that isn’t really saying much considering their woeful records in recent years.

But the Jets are giving the Bills a run for their money in the AFC East – and the Giants are just about keeping up with the Eagles in the NFC East. There is a long way to go but it could be that we have at least one New York team in the playoffs this season. As with all these teams, there is still time for everything to go very wrong. But we’ll let the fans of these teams dream for a little bit longer.