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Over the past 20 years, NFL dynasties like the New England Patriots and Kansas City Chiefs have made it seem like longshots never win a Super Bowl.
But while there are plenty of Super Bowls won by favorites, there have been plenty of times when Super Bowl longshots have shocked the football world and made unprecedented runs that have made the bookmakers look foolish.
Though the current NFL landscape makes it more challenging for under-the-radar teams to make it all the way, history has shown us that anything can happen in professional football.
Here are some Super Bowl champions who overcame the longest preseason betting odds. All odds are via sportsoddshistory.com.
2001 New England Patriots (+6000)
Although he retired in 2023, Tom Brady remains one of the NFL’s most prominent ambassadors and arguably the sport’s greatest player. However, at one point, he was a skinny, weak-armed quarterback out of the University of Michigan trying to make the New England Patriots.
Brady was drafted to little fanfare in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL Draft and only appeared in one game that year.
A year later, the previously no-name quarterback at the time led the underdog Patriots to a Super Bowl. After opening the season at 60-1 odds to hoist the Lombardi Trophy, Brady was quickly thrust into action when starting quarterback Drew Bledsoe suffered a devastating injury.
While Brady looked pretty average during the season, the Patriots’ defense and clutch gene put them in a championship position. They finished the regular season with an 11-5 record and started the playoffs with a 16-13 win against the Raiders on a snowy New England night that would forever be preserved as the “Tuck Rule” game.
In the closing moments of the fourth quarterBrady dropped back to pass with the Patriots trailing by three, he stopped his throwing motion and fumbled the ball while he was tucking it back into his body.
Or so everyone believed.
After review, the booth ruled the play an incomplete forward pass, giving New England second life. Adam Vinatieri later tied the game with a 45-yard field goal before winning the game in overtime with another field goal.
The win sparked the Patriots throughout the remainder of the postseason. They beat the Steelers in the AFC Championship Game and the St. Louis Rams in the Super Bowl, with Vinatieri making another game-winning field goal.
2017 Philadelphia Eagles (+6000)
Brady would have an extra Super Bowl ring if it weren’t for Nick Foles and the Philadelphia Eagles. Very few backup quarterbacks have a statue, but Foles deserved one for his heroics in Super Bowl LII.
While the Eagles’ preseason Super Bowl odds were as high as +6000 in 2017, they got off to a fast start behind second-year quarterback Carson Wentz.
Through 13 games, the North Dakota State product racked up over 3,296 yards and had a 33:7 TD-to-INT ratio. Unfortunately, Wentz suffered a devastating ACL tear in Week 14 against the Rams that ended his year.
Even though the Eagles were 11-2 when Wentz got hurt,. Philadelphia fans were devastated because the team had all the necessary pieces to win a ring outside of a quarterback.
However, Foles ended up doing just enough.
The Eagles beat the Falcons in the Divisional Round before. following up with a 38-7 victory over Minnesota in the NFC Championship Game; a game where Foles went 26-of-33 for 352 yards and three touchdowns.
However, it appeared that Brady and the Patriots would finish off the underdogs in Super Bowl LII. New England closed as a 5.5-point favorite on the spread and a -180 moneyline favorite.
Brady had the big game experience, and the betting public hammered the Patriots, which had been a brilliant bet over the years. Yet, this game was all about Philadelphia.
The Eagles won 41-33 and fended off Brady, who threw for 505 yards and three touchdowns. Foles was fantastic, going 28-for-43 for 373 yards and a touchdown.
The win earned Foles the Super Bowl MVP title and a statue titled ‘Philly Special’ in honor of the trick play the Eagles used to score at the end of the first half.
1999 St. Louis Rams (+15000)
The ‘01 Patriots and ‘17 Eagles had impressive Super Bowl runs, but they pale in comparison to the ‘99 St. Louis Rams. St. Louis were at +15000 to win the Super Bowl in preseason, partially because they had a backup quarterback named Kurt Warner at the helm.
While Warner may now be a Hall of Fame quarterback, he overcame a ton of adversity before getting his chance to be a starter.
Warner played college football at Northern Iowa, graduating in 1993. He went undrafted in the 1994 NFL Draft and was cut by the Packers in his first training camp. He signed with the Iowa Barnstormers of the Arena Football League in 1995 and played with them through 1997.
Warner joined the Rams in 1998 and was the team’s third-string quarterback. He earned the top spot on the depth chart in 1999 when starter Trent Green suffered a torn ACL in the preseason.
Warner had a lot of support from future Hall of Famers in running back Marshall Faulk and wide receivers Isaac Bruce and Torry Holt. Warner was no slouch either, as he posted one of the best seasons from the position in NFL history at the time, throwing for over 4,300 yards with 41 touchdowns.
The Rams offense, led by offensive coordinator Mike Martz, was nicknamed “The Greatest Show on Turf” because it set NFL scoring records. Even though St. Louis entered the season with 150/1 odds to win it all, they had a relatively easy path to the Super Bowl.
The team went 13-3 in the regular season and beat the Vikings and Buccaneers in the playoffs to reach the Super Bowl. Once they got there, Warner and the Rams took down the Titans by a score of 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV to shock the football world.
Those 150/1 Super Bowl odds are the equivalent of the Carolina Panthers hoisting the Lombardi next February.
Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images
