For the first time in 19 years, fans of the Washington Commanders have something to celebrate in the postseason – as do their backers at Virginia sportsbooks. Washington has advanced in the postseason for the first time in the NFL Playoffs since the 2005 season. The next step is to reach the NFC Championship for the first time since the franchise won Super Bowl XXVI in January 1992.
Heading into the Divisional Round of the NFL playoffs, it’s clear some teams have a stronger regular season than others fighting to make it to the Super Bowl. Here are the remaining teams in the playoffs, listed from worst to best for regular-season winning percentage:
Team | Record |
Houston Texans | .588 |
Los Angeles Rams | .588 |
Baltimore Ravens | .706 |
Washington Commanders | .706 |
Buffalo Bills | .765 |
Philadelphia Eagles | .824 |
Kansas City Chiefs | .882 |
Detroit Lions | .882 |
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Reaching the NFC Championship Game will be a challenge as the Commanders must go to Detroit on Saturday night to face the top-seeded Lions. Rookie quarterback Jayden Daniels and his teammates are 9.5-point underdogs at Caesars Virginia Sportsbook heading into the Divisional Round showdown.
However, should the Commanders pull out the upset this weekend, they would still have a chance to be one of the most improbable Super Bowl winners this century.
Washington was one of the biggest surprises in the NFL this season. Oddsmakers at BetMGM Virginia Sportsbook set the team’s season win total at 6.5 and their preseason odds to win the Super Bowl were +15000. Instead, under first-year coach Dan Quinn, the Commanders nearly doubled that win projection by going 12-5 in the regular season. As one of the last eight teams standing, BetMGM now gives the Commanders odds of +3000 to win the franchise’s fourth Super Bowl.
At BetVirginia.com, we wondered which Super Bowl champs since 2000 had the worst regular-season records. Using Pro-Football-Reference.com, we pulled the records for each Super Bowl winner since 2000. We then listed the 10 teams with the lowest winning percentages to see how the current teams stack up against past underdogs.
Season | Team | Record |
2011 | New York Giants | .563 |
2012 | Baltimore Ravens | .625 |
2010 | Green Bay Packers | .625 |
2007 | New York Giants | .625 |
2023 | Kansas City Chiefs | .647 |
2020 | Tampa Bay Buccaneers | .688 |
2018 | New England Patriots | .688 |
2005 | Pittsburgh Steelers | .688 |
2001 | New England Patriots | .688 |
2021 | Los Angeles Rams | .706 |
Should Quinn’s team win it all this season, those Washington Commanders Super Bowl odds would pay off very well. And the Commanders would tie the 2021 Los Angeles Rams, who also went 12-5 en route to a Super Bowl title, on this list. However, the team would make even more history by pulling off what many consider to be an improbable feat.
In the Super Bowl era, no rookie QB has even started in the big game, much less led his team to the title. So, Daniels has a chance to make a special rookie season even more spectacular. He’d also have a pretty good chance of winning Super Bowl MVP honors should that happen.
Virginia is one of the few sports betting states that does not allow sportsbooks to offer markets on player awards, like Super Bowl MVP (Note: Betting on Rookie of the Year, which Daniels is among the favorites to win, has closed at most sportsbooks).
Those futures, though, are available in nearby jurisdictions, including the District of Columbia, Maryland, North Carolina, Tennessee, Kentucky and West Virginia. Currently, FanDuel Virginia Sportsbook is offering Daniels at +3200 to hold up that trophy on Feb. 9.
USA Today photo by Nathan Ray Seebeck
Author
Steve is an accomplished, award-winning reporter with more than 20 years of experience covering gaming, sports, politics and business. He has written for the Associated Press, Reuters, The Louisville Courier Journal, The Center Square and numerous other publications. Based in Louisville, Ky., Steve has covered the expansion of sports betting in the U.S. and other gaming matters.
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