Commanders’ 2023 Super Bowl odds underscore need to find franchise QB

For a while during the second half of the season, the Washington Commanders possessed one of three wild card spots in the NFC. All they needed to do was handle their business in the final five games, all of which came within the division.

Of course, a devastating COVID-19 outbreak, untimely injuries and two players, Montez Sweat and Deshazor Everett, enduring unspeakable tragedies was too much to overcome and the Commanders finished 1-4 down the stretch.

It was a demoralizing finish to what was a vitalizing second-half turnaround. However, it could end up serving as a blessing in disguise for the franchise given its limitations at quarterback is what ultimately held the team back.

With a respected head coach, stout offensive and defensive lines, a superstar receiver, an ascending running back and a secondary that made serious strides coming out of the bye, Washington isn’t far off.

Having said that, the team’s ceiling in 2022 and beyond will be contingent on who’s appointed as its next franchise QB. Until then, the Commanders will be considered an afterthought in the playoff picture and WynnBET‘s opening 2023 Super Bowl odds are an accurate reflection of that.

The Commanders’ 2023 Super Bowl odds have been revealed.

Here’s a list of the teams slightly ahead of and behind Washington:

Tampa Bay Buccaneers: +3500
Miami Dolphins: +4000
Philadelphia Eagles: +4000
Chicago Bears: +5000
New Orleans Saints: +5000
Seattle Seahawks: +5000
Washington Commanders: +5000
Las Vegas Raiders: +6000
Atlanta Falcons: +7500
Carolina Panthers: +7500
Jacksonville Jaguars: +7500
Pittsburgh Steelers: +7500
New York Giants: +10000
Detroit Lions: +15000
Houston Texans: +15000
New York Jets: +20000

We don’t doubt that the Commanders would leapfrog several of those teams if they had a quarterback in place.

However, the fact teams like the Saints, who are in cap hell, have no QB and just lost their head coach to retirement, the Dolphins, who have big questions at quarterback, and the Bears, who have a first-time head coach and an unproven young signal-caller, have the same or better odds than Washington is a tad disrespectful.

Even with Taylor Heinicke presiding over the offense after Ryan Fitzpatrick’s injury, the Commanders won seven games and it took a seismic COVID outbreak to firmly knock them out of the playoff picture.

Let’s also not forget Washington played the hardest schedule in the NFL; one that included Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Patrick Mahomes, Josh Allen, Russell Wilson, Justin Herbert and Dak Prescott, who feasts against the NFC East.

With a suspected drastic improvement at quarterback, a third-place schedule and the aforementioned foundation, it’s fair to argue that the Commanders’ +5000 odds (bet $100 to win $5,000) are a gross miscalculation.

At the same time, you can’t argue with the logic that Heinicke is currently the only QB under contract for 2022 and Washington isn’t winning anything with him under center. There’s plenty of time for these odds to improve and adding an elite quarterback would likely see them jump into the top half of this list.