Oddsmakers: If Vikings Reach Super Bowl, They’ll See Familiar Face
Dustin Baker
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The Minnesota Vikings are a longshot to win Super Bowl LVII. At +4000 odds, the Vikings are the 20th most likely franchise to take home the Lombardi trophy in 2022. The New England Patriots and New Orleans Saints share similar odds.
If they do somehow reach the league’s final game, though, the Vikings are most likely to face the Buffalo BIlls, according to BetOnline.ag.
The Bills have knocked on the Super Bowl’s door in back-to-back seasons, with a roster headlined by All-Pro quarterback Josh Allen and his top target, Stefon Diggs. The Kansas City Chiefs ruined Buffalo’s February plans in 2020 and 2021, respectively, and now the Bills are the top team, according to oddsmakers, to win Super Bowl LVII.
BetOnline.ag recently published Super Bowl odds for every possible NFL matchup. The Vikings first placement on the list was against the aforementioned Bills in a game with +8000 odds to occur. What does that mean? Well, if a bettor laid down $100 right now on a Vikings-Bills Super Bowl showdown — and it happened — the payout would be $8,000 in profit.
Diggs left the Vikings in the spring of 2020 after disillusionment with the team’s offense. For most of the 2019 season, Diggs tweeted his frustration with the Vikings offense, usually with weird song lyrics or hidden-meaning sentences. The disgruntlement culminated before the 2020 NFL Draft when former Vikings general manager Rick Spielman traded Diggs to Buffalo for draft picks [that would turn into] Justin Jefferson (WR), Camryn Bynum (S), Janarius Robinson (EDGE), Kenny Willekes (EDGE), and Zach Davidson (TE).
The trade has been universally praised as a wondrous swap for both teams.
Moreover, if the Vikings and Bills meet next February, the matchup with feature two teams with 0-4 records in the Super Bowl. In that regard, something would have to give. Minnesota lost four Super Bowls in the late 1960s and early-to-mid 1970s. Buffalo lost the big game four times consecutively from 1990 to 1993.
The Bills also feature former Viking Case Keenum at QB2. Keenum led the Vikings to the brink of a Super Bowl appearance in 2017, but the team collapsed after the first quarter in the 2017 NFC Championship. While some Vikings faithful wanted the front office to re-up with Keenum at an affordable price, Rick Spielman signed on for the Kirk Cousins experiment at a non-affordable price. Keenum ventured to the Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, and Cleveland Browns, never to regain his 2017 form. Now, he’s a backup to Josh Allen.
In the event Minnesota reaches the Super Bowl but does not play Buffalo, these are the likeliest matchups:
- Vikings vs. Chiefs (+11,500)
- Vikings vs. Chargers (+11,500)
- Vikings vs. Broncos (+16,500)
- Vikings vs. Bengals (+20,000)
Per BetOnline, these are the least likely Super Bowl matchups leaguewide — all with +500,000 odds:
- Falcons vs. Texans
- Panthers vs. Texans
- Bears vs. Texans
- Lions vs. Texans
- Giants vs. Texans
- Seahawks vs. Texans
- Commanders vs. Texans
Finally, if Vikings-Bills comes to fruition, it would pit Dalvin Cook versus his brother, James Cook, who Buffalo drafted in April.
The Vikings and Bills have played a combined 112 full seasons without a Super Bowl triumph.
Dustin Baker is a political scientist who graduated from the University of Minnesota in 2007. Subscribe to his daily YouTube Channel, VikesNow. He hosts a podcast with Bryant McKinnie, which airs every Wednesday with Raun Sawh and Sally from Minneapolis. His Viking fandom dates back to 1996. Listed guilty pleasures: Peanut Butter Ice Cream, ‘The Sopranos,’ and The Doors (the band).
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