The road to Super Bowl LVI began with Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season this past weekend.
A win or loss in Week 1 doesn’t really change much at all. Hope is still alive for all 32 NFL teams, regardless of how they opened the 2021 campaign. Although, hope seems to be all some of these teams have.
There have been 55 Super Bowl games in NFL history. Twenty different franchises have won a title, leaving 12 that have never won. In short, it’s an ideal time to bet on NFL futures.
The list of NFL teams that have never won a Super Bowl includes:
- Arizona Cardinals
- Atlanta Falcons
- Buffalo Bills
- Carolina Panthers
- Cincinnati Bengals
- Cleveland Browns
- Detroit Lions
- Houston Texans
- Jacksonville Jaguars
- Los Angeles Chargers
- Minnesota Vikings
- Tennessee Titans
Is this the year an NFL franchise that has never won a Super Bowl delivers for their unrequited fan base?
In this dynamic NFL betting season, what are the odds on those teams to end their droughts in Super Bowl 56? And how much would you get paid if you bet on it right now? Let’s dive in.
The contenders to win the Super Bowl in 2022
Buffalo Bills ()
QB Josh Allen has MVP potential, which is why the odds on the Bills getting off this list are the lowest you’ll find.
Buffalo looks to be a Super Bowl contender this season, but history suggests winning one might be an impossible task for this franchise. The Bills haven’t been to a Super Bowl since 1994, when the team lost its fourth Super Bowl in a row. That still stands as a rather dubious NFL record.
For this and several other reasons, the most talented team Buffalo has put on the field in decades sits around to win Super Bowl LVI. Of course, those odds are still significantly lower than the odds on the rest of the teams on the “Never Won a Super Bowl” list, including many that have never even made it to the Super Bowl before.
Cleveland Browns ()
Cleveland’s NFL team won an NFL championship in 1964, but they’ve never even been to a Super Bowl. The Browns came close in the late 1980s, making three AFC Championship games, only to lose to the Denver Broncos every single time.
However, the real salt in the wound is the fact owner Art Modell moved the Browns to Baltimore in 1996 and the Baltimore Ravens have since won two Super Bowls (XXXV in 2002 and XLVII in 2012.)
The Browns started back up in Cleveland in 1999, but have only made two NFL playoff appearances since then. That said, one was last season, which is one of the main reasons why the odds on Cleveland winning Super Bowl LVI are lower than any other team that has never even appeared in a Super Bowl before.
At the very least, a bet on the Browns at +750 (after Week 1) to get off the “Never Been to a Super Bowl” list and win the AFC Championship this season looks like a decent one. Even if Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs (+230 to win the AFC Championship and +500 to win Super Bowl LVI after Week 1) stand in the way of that.
The NFL teams who might have a chance to win Super Bowl in 2022
Los Angeles Chargers ()
The Chargers are hoping the move to LA and young and talented QB Justin Herbert can get them over the hump. Oddsmakers say things are looking better after a Week 1 win.
Tennessee Titans ()
If a running back could lead a team to a Super Bowl win all by himself, Derrick Henry would be the one to do it.
Clearly that’s a big “if,” as the odds on the Titans winning the Super Bowl wouldn’t be so high otherwise.
Arizona Cardinals ()
QB Kyler Murray is the real deal. As he keeps getting better and chalking up highlight-reel moments, the odds on the Cards getting off the “Never Won a Super Bowl” list keep dropping.
If there ever was a time to lock in a low-risk bet on the Cards finally bringing the Vince Lombardi trophy to the desert, now is it.
Minnesota Vikings ()
The Vikings make the playoffs every year, but these odds are about winning the Super Bowl. That’s something less-than-elite QB Kirk Cousins and Minnesota have never done.
The longshot NFL teams to win Super Bowl in 2022
Carolina Panthers ()
Stop me if you’ve heard this one before, but if a running back could lead a team to a Super Bowl win all by himself, Christian McCaffrey would be the one to do it and the odds on the Panthers winning it all wouldn’t be this high.
Atlanta Falcons ()
This just in: Trading your best receiver and going with the same guy at QB who has failed to get it done in the past will ensure the odds on you winning stay high.
Cincinnati Bengals ()
The good news is Joe Burrow‘s not a rookie with a torn ACL anymore. The bad news is the odds on a second-year QB with a surgically repaired ACL winning now are almost as astronomical.
The really longshot NFL teams to win Super Bowl 56
These three NFL teams that have never even made a Super Bowl have the longest odds to win the title of all 32 NFL teams this season. In other words, Jacksonville, Detroit, and Houston are the NFL’s biggest longshots.
Jacksonville Jaguars ()
Perhaps it’s because they have made it to the AFC Championship game three times in the franchise’s short history. Maybe it’s because they drafted First-team All-American, ACC Player of the Year, and CFP National Championship winning quarterback Trevor Lawrence first overall in the offseason.
Either way, the Jags have the lowest odds of the three, if not the highest hopes.
Houston Texans ()
Of course, the odds aren’t any better on Houston winning it all this season. The Texans have never made it past the Divisional Round of the playoffs, even blowing a 24-0 lead over the Kansas City Chiefs in a Divisional Round game in 2019.
Figuring out what to do with troubled-off-the-field QB Deshaun Watson seems to be a bigger priority for the franchise right now. Winning, or even making the Super Bowl doesn’t seem to be part of the plan in Houston these days.
Detroit Lions ()
The Lions haven’t even won an NFL playoff game since 1991. Add in the fact they’re rebuilding again after trading away franchise QB Matthew Stafford in the offseason and it’s easy to see why the odds on Detroit winning Super Bowl LVI are so astronomical.
What are the odds a team comes out of nowhere to win the Super Bowl?
NFL teams rarely come out of nowhere to win a Super Bowl, but it has happened. The San Francisco 49ers went 2–14, 2-14, and 6–10 in the three seasons before winning Super Bowl XVI in 1981.
More recently, the New England Patriots were coming off a 5–11 season and starting Drew Bledsoe at QB when he got hurt and Tom Brady came off the bench to lead the team to a Super Bowl XXXVI victory in 2001.
Because these things actually happened, suggesting anything is possible, even a $10 bet on any of these three true longshots would pay at least $2,200. They might be worth a shot, long as it may be.
For what it’s worth, the Texans even managed to get a Week 1 win. Although, it did come against Jacksonville …
