Biggest preseason underdog teams that won the Super Bowl
Kevin C. Cox // Getty Images
Biggest preseason underdog teams that won the Super Bowl
A New England Patriots player raising the Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The buildup to every National Football League season is full of excitement for virtually every team’s fanbase, but for only a select few teams does a trip to the Super Bowl feel like a realistic outcome. Emerging from the AFC or NFC to even compete for the Lombardi Trophy is an impressive feat, but winning it? It’s the toughest task in the NFL and arguably any sport.
The first few weeks of the 2024 NFL season included upset after upset by underdog teams. The New England Patriots’ strong rushing game helped the team beat a hyped-up Bengals, led by Joe Burrow at home in Cincinnati in week one. Another team struggling to nab a slot in the post-season in recent years, the Las Vegas Raiders, was able to best the Baltimore Ravens in week two—a team projected to have among the best odds at a number one seed spot in the playoffs.
Despite these exciting upsets, however, these teams have fallen back into regular season records. The Patriots, for example, sit at the bottom of the AFC heading into the final few games of the regular season. That makes this season like most in the NFL—it’s a rare occurrence when a preseason underdog team is able to beat the odds and dominate in the Super Bowl.
For almost 50 years, only a handful of squads with particularly long preseason odds (+3000 or higher) to win the Super Bowl have reached the mountaintop. The 1980-81 Oakland Raiders and the 1982-83 Washington team—both listed by bookmakers before their first games at +3500 to win the big one—were perhaps the first true underdog champions, winning four postseason contests apiece.
More recently, the 2007-08 New York Giants (+3000) shocked almost everyone by keeping the New England Patriots from joining the 1972-73 Miami Dolphins as the only undefeated titlists and denying them the NFL’s first 19-0 season. But there have been bigger surprises.
Stacker compiled a ranking of the biggest preseason underdog teams that won the Super Bowl using data from Pro Football Reference. Preseason Super Bowl moneylines were used to rank teams, and champions from every year since 1977 were considered.
You may also like: Most disappointing season for every NFL team in the 21st century
Mike Ehrmann // Getty Images
#4. Philadelphia Eagles 2017-18
Nick Foles of the Philadelphia Eagles reacts after a 1-yard touchdown reception against the New England Patriots.
– Preseason SB odds: +4000
– Regular-season record: 13-3
The story behind the 2017-18 Philadelphia Eagles won’t be forgotten, even by fans who support teams other than the eventual Super Bowl champions. This club entered the season with a second-year quarterback in Carson Wentz, who had gone 7-9 as a starter in his rookie season but then reeled off 11 wins in 13 regular-season games.
But Wentz’s season was cut short by a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Week 14, and in turn, the weight of finishing the job fell on backup quarterback Nick Foles. The rest became history.
Foles and the Eagles made one of the most improbable runs to a Super Bowl, defeating the Tom Brady-led New England Patriots in Super Bowl LII 41-33 to capture the franchise’s first championship since 1960.
Focus on Sport // Getty Images
#3. San Francisco 49ers 1981-82
Coach Bill Walsh is held up by his San Francisco 49ers players after defeating the Cincinnati Bengals.
– Preseason SB odds: +5000
– Regular-season record: 13-3
The present-day San Francisco 49ers have had an exceptional stretch of regular-season success. But entering the 1981-82 season, the Niners had gone eight consecutive years without reaching the playoffs and had put together just one winning campaign in that span.
That memorable season—in which the 49ers won 15 of their final 16 games overall and defeated the Cincinnati Bengals 26-21 in Super Bowl XVI—is widely considered the year their dynasty began. The Super Bowl victory marked the start of a dominant stretch in which San Francisco won five Super Bowls in 14 years. But the season began with the team going 1-2 through three games.
The Niners had chosen eventual Hall of Famer Ronnie Lott with the No. 8 pick in the draft prior to the season, and the year marked quarterback Joe Montana’s first as a full-time starter. The NFC Championship Game produced one of the most memorable moments in NFL history, as Montana and wide receiver Dwight Clark linked up for “The Catch” to complete a comeback victory over the Dallas Cowboys.
Allen Kee // Getty Images
#2. New England Patriots 2001-02
David Patten catches ball in the Super Bowl XXXVI game of the New England Patriots versus the St. Louis Rams.
– Preseason SB odds: +6000
– Regular-season record: 11-5
The 2001-02 New England Patriots are another team that sparked one of the most memorable dynasties in NFL history. This season was their second under head coach Bill Belichick, and the Pats had finished in fifth place in the AFC East the year prior.
The emergence of an incredible backup quarterback by the name of Tom Brady is what led to the Super Bowl run. The sixth-round pick in the 2000 draft stepped in after starter Drew Bledsoe, who had signed a 10-year, $102.8 million contract extension prior to the season, was injured in the second game.
Brady started the final 14 games and compiled an 11-3 record. The Patriots became the first team in NFL history to win the Super Bowl after starting a season 1-3, defeating the St. Louis Rams 20-17 in Super Bowl XXXVI. Over the next 17 seasons, New England won 15 division titles and five Super Bowls in eight appearances.
Bob Leverone // Getty Images
#1. St. Louis Rams 1999-2000
Mike Tirico, Georgia Frontiere, head coach Dick Vermeil and Isaac Bruce at Super Bowl XXXIV.
– Preseason SB odds: +15000
– Regular-season record: 13-3
The St. Louis Rams entered the 1999-2000 season having not made the playoffs since 1989, back when they were the Los Angeles Rams. Behind head coach Dick Vermeil, St. Louis ignited its turnaround with a dominant year at home, going undefeated and finishing 13-3 in the regular season.
Quarterback Kurt Warner had an incredible campaign, throwing for 4,353 yards and 41 touchdowns with 13 interceptions. It was one of the most surprising single-season performances in NFL history, for which he won the first of his two MVP awards in three seasons. The Rams had planned for Trent Green to be their starter, but he suffered a torn ACL in the preseason.
Warner led a group featuring offensive coordinator Mike Martz, running back Marshall Faulk, and wide receivers Isaac Bruce, Torry Holt, Az-Zahir Hakim, and Ricky Proehl to key an improbable Super Bowl run. The new-look Rams offense was dubbed the “Greatest Show on Turf” as it scored 500 points for the first of three consecutive seasons and helped defeat the Tennessee Titans 23-16 in Super Bowl XXXIV.
Additional writing and story editing by Mike Taylor. Copy editing by Robert Wickwire. Photo selection by Clarese Moller.
