Vegas does not believe in next year's Redskins

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Photo credit Kim Klement-USA TODAY Sports

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It's hard to believe, but the Washington Redskins finished the 2018 season at 7-9, just one game under .500 and near the middle of the pack for the NFL.

There seems to be little confidence that the team will reach even those heights in 2019, and almost zero faith among sports bettors that the team will contend for the Super Bowl.

According to most of the major Las Vegas sports books, which opened early Super Bowl LIV odds on Tuesday, the Redskins face 100:1 odds of winning next year's Super Bowl.

That makes them tied for the second worst odds in the league with the Lions, Jets, Bills, Bengals, Raiders and Cardinals, ahead of only the Miami Dolphins (300:1 odds).

That is some tough company to keep. Remember that the Redskins finished two games ahead of the Giants in the standings and even the G-men are tied with the Jaguars and 49ers at 40:1 odds.

Elsewhere in the NFC East, the Cowboys and Eagles are tied at 20:1 odds after showing well in the playoffs following a soft regular season. Both teams are expected to improve with a healthy offseason.

The Redskins actually seem like one of the riskier bets at 100:1 odds because they lack certainty at the most important position in sports: the quarterback. Detroit, Cincinnati and Oakland have veterans with track records of success, while New York, Buffalo and Arizona all head into year two with their young quarterbacks.

The Redskins have nobody to be excited about, with Alex Smith's recovery completely unknown and journeyman Colt McCoy also on the mend. With Smith's contract, the Redskins lack the resources to pursue an upgrade over McCoy, meaning that he's likely to start the season under center, hopefully mentoring a rookie.

With the Redskins likely to be in roster-trimming mode this offseason, we could see several big-ticket, big-contract veterans on the way out the door. This helps in the long run but could make it ugly in the short term.

If you need help crying yourself to sleep at night, just read through this list of favorites with ties back to D.C.:

  • Former Redskins coach Sean McVay's Rams are Super Bowl 54 favorites at 6:1 odds;
  • Former Redskins quarterback Kirk Cousins' Vikings are tied for eighth with 16:1 odds;
  • Former Redskins coach Matt LaFleur's Packers are tied for eighth with 16:1 odds

On the other hand, the Redskins always have a chance to shock the world. The U.S. Men's "Miracle on Ice" team in 1980 had 1,000:1 odds of beating the Soviets. Kurt Warner and the Rams were 300:1 odds of winning the Super Bowl in 1999, and turned into the "Greatest Show on Turf." Could the 2019 Redskins become the next made-for-Hollywood story?

The odds are clearly stacked against them.

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