Once Considered a Favorite, Vipers Now Listed at +1000 to Win XFL Championship

• The Tampa Bay Vipers have started the season 0-2
• The Vipers, who had the highest regular season win total entering the season (7.5), have scored a total of 12 points in two games
• With the Vipers tumbling, find out if now is the right time to bet on them to win the XFL title

The Tampa Bay Vipers entered the season tied among the favorites to win the XFL Championship. They even had the highest regular season win total on the board at 7.5. However, after two games and two losses, they’ve looked like one of the worst teams in the XFL. As a result, their XFL Championship odds have tumbled down the board.

2020 XFL Championship Odds

Odds taken Feb. 17th.

Vipers Flop In Week 2

The Vipers embarrassed themselves in Week 1 when they managed to put only three points on the board. With head coach Marc Trestman guiding the way and quarterback Aaron Murray under center, this was supposed to be a team that was going to move the ball on offense. That’s been far from the case.

In Week 2, Murray missed the game, leaving the Vipers with just Taylor Cornelius and Quinton Flowers under center. The Vipers were thinking about giving those two players a longer look anyway even if Murray played but now they have a clear vision. The duo combined for 172 passing yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions.

What’s bizarre is that the running game has worked well now for two weeks in a row but the passing game is simply in shambles. They rushed for 141 yards this week after running for 150 last week. That’s still not helping the quarterbacks and the passing game as they simply aren’t making plays.

Vipers Have Played a Weak Schedule

Although some people feel like Tampa Bay can turn things around, I’m skeptical. Part of the reason why is they’ve played an easy schedule so far and have still struggled. They lost 23-3 to the New York Guardians, who failed to score a single point in Week 2.

In Week 2, they lost to Seattle, who was stomped 31-19 in Week 1. Seattle is not a particularly strong team and it’s unclear how they even won in Week 2. They finished the day with just 208 yards of total offense. And 68 of those came on one play, which means they averaged just 2.9 yards-per-play on their 48 other plays.

In fairness, we’re still in the early stages of this league as many of these players have never played together or worked with this coaching staff. They’re still getting to know each other. At the same time, I wasn’t impressed with this Vipers roster to begin with and I didn’t understand why they were favored, so this was somewhat expected.

What’s the Best Bet?

It’s still very early in the season but we can clearly see where some of the teams stack up. The DC Defenders look great and they’re the front runner, we have a congested traffic jam for the middle of the pack and then there are teams like Tampa Bay, who are among the worst in the XFL.

I have no faith that Trestman and company will turn it around, so I won’t be backing them. Until we see at least something from them, it’s best to stay away from their futures.