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Christopher Boan has been covering sports and sports betting for more than seven years, including stops at ArizonaSports.com, the Tucson Weekly and the Green Valley News.
What Are The Most Overachieving NFL Teams?
The Washington Commanders came up short of the franchise’s first Super Bowl berth since 1991, but the 2024-25 NFL season was still sensational for the NFC East stalwarts. First-year head coach Dan Quinn helped set the stage for a brighter football future in the nation’s capital and Washington Commanders Super Bowl odds for the 2025-26 season are a realistic thought.
Quinn and the Commanders rattled off 12 wins last season, notching the club’s most victories in a season since going 14-2 during that Super Bowl run in 1991. Washington also advanced past the Wild Card round for the first time since 2005.
With the NFL season wrapped up, BetVirginia.com wanted to see which were the most overachieving NFL teams based on preseason over/under compared to their final record. We got the preseason O/U and records from Pro-Football-Reference.com as part of our Virginia sports betting coverage.
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Best Performance vs. Preseason Win Totals
Team | Preseason O/U, Record | +/- |
Minnesota Vikings | 6.5, 14-3 | +7.5 |
Washington Commanders | 6.5, 12-5 | +5.5 |
Denver Broncos | 5.5, 10-7 | +4.5 |
Detroit Lions | 10.5, 15 | +4.5 |
Kansas City Chiefs | 11.5, 15-2 | +3.5 |
Philadelphia Eagles | 10.5, 14-3 | +3.5 |
Buffalo Bills | 10, 13-4 | +3 |
Seattle Seahawks | 7.5, 10-7 | +2.5 |
Tampa Bay Buccaneers | 7.5, 10-7 | +2.5 |
Los Angeles Chargers | 9, 11-6 | +2 |
Pittsburgh Steelers | 8, 10-7 | +2 |
Where Washington Ranked Among NFL Success Stories
Of the 32 teams in the NFL today, only the Minnesota Vikings managed to fly past their preseason win total over/under at VA sportsbook apps by a greater margin than Washington did. The Vikings were 14-3 after having a preseason win total figure of 6.5, while the Commanders cleared their preseason number of 6.5 by 5.5 wins for the second-largest clearance.
Leaguewide, Washington finished ahead of the Denver Broncos and Detroit Lions (+4.5 wins each). The two teams that competed in Super Bowl LIX were next up, with the Kansas City Chiefs and Super Bowl champion Philadelphia Eagles clearing their preseason totals by 3.5 victories apiece.
Rounding out the list of overachieving NFL teams were the Buffalo Bills (+3), Seattle Seahawks and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+2.5 each), then the Los Angeles Chargers and the Pittsburgh Steelers (both +2). The Bills had the most wins of the bunch, at 13-4.
Overall, Washington’s 12 wins ranked as the sixth most in the grouping, behind the 15-2 Chiefs and Lions, 14-3 Eagles and Vikings and the 13-4 Bills. The Commanders ranked ahead of the 11-6 Chargers and the Broncos, Buccaneers, Seahawks and Steelers, who all went 10-7 last season.
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USA Today photo by Bill Streicher
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