After Brees Plays Great in Return, Saints’ Super Bowl Odds Listed at +500
By Robert Duff in NFL Football
Updated: April 8, 2020 at 3:55 pm EDTPublished:
- Playing his first game since undergoing thumb surgery after Week 2 of the NFL season, Drew Brees quarterbacked the New Orleans Saints to a 31-9 drubbing of the Arizona Cardinals in Week 8
- Oddsmakers lowered the odds of the Saints winning Super Bowl 54 to +500 from +517
- The Saints were at average odds of +2000 to win the Super Bowl shortly after Brees was injured
Some critics wondered whether the New Orleans Saints were rushing quarterback Drew Brees back too quickly from thumb surgery.
Turns out his return was a breeze.
New Orleans manhandled the Arizona Cardinals 31-9 on Sunday. Brees returned from a five-week absence and didn’t miss a beat.
He completed 34-of-43 passes for 373 yards and three touchdowns. It was the NFL-record 117th 300-yard passing game of his career.
Oddsmakers didn’t let the performance pass without taking a slice off the Saints’ Super Bowl odds. The sportsbook lowered New Orleans to +500 in their odds to win the Super Bowl. The Saints are the second betting choice in this market.
Super Bowl 54 Odds
| Team | Odds |
|---|---|
| New England Patriots | +225 |
| New Orleans Saints | +500 |
| Green Bay Packers | +800 |
| San Francisco 49ers | +800 |
| Baltimore Ravens | +1400 |
| Kansas City Chiefs | +1400 |
| Dallas Cowboys | +1400 |
| Minnesota Vikings | +1400 |
| Los Angeles Rams | +1400 |
| Seattle Seahawks | +1600 |
*Odds taken on October 28, 2019
The Saints were as high as +2000 to win the Super Bowl the week after Brees was injured.
Saints Preserved It
The doom and gloom that permeated the Big Easy the week after Brees was injured was palpable. Not only had they just lost – again – to the Los Angeles Rams, the team that beat New Orleans in last season’s NFC Championship Game, the Saints also lost their All Pro QB. Brees tore the ulnar collateral ligament in the thumb on his right throwing hand.
Drew Brees returns to the Saints today. Teddy Bridgewater held it DOWN in his absence.
◽️ 5-0 as starter
◽️ 9 TD | 2 INT
◽️ 69.7 completion %
◽️ 103.7 QB ratingLeague’s highest-paid backup for a reason. pic.twitter.com/sbM21Y7t7f
— Bleacher Report (@BleacherReport) October 27, 2019
Enter Teddy Bridgewater to put the season in save mode. The Saints went 5-0 both straight up and against the spread with Bridgewater pinch-hitting for the injured Brees. He beat two 2018 playoff teams on the road with wins at Seattle and Chicago, and won at home against another 2018 postseason participant when New Orleans defeated Dallas.
As they enter their Week 9 bye, the Saints have won six in a row.
Firing On All Cylinders
Getting Brees back is the icing on the cake for the Saints. They already have so much else going in their favor.
The Saints are the NFL’s sixth ranked defense (316.5 yards per game). They’ve sacked the quarterback 24 times, second-best in the NFC. Defensive end Cameron Jordan is tied for fourth in the NFL with eight sacks.
To answer the question posed in my story earlier this week on whether it matter's Who's Guarding Mike? Michael Thomas has 11 catches on 11 targets for 112 yards and a TD despite being shadowed often by Patrick Peterson.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) October 27, 2019
Individually, Michael Thomas is the NFL’s best wide receiver. He caught 11 balls on Sunday. Thomas leads the league with 73 catches.
Brees wasn’t the only star sidelined by injury. The last two weeks, the Saints played without running back Alvin Kamara, the 2017 NFL OROY. In Kamara’s place, Latavius Murray posted consecutive 100-yard rushing games and scored four TDs.
Learning About Themselves
Two years ago, the Saints were knocked out of the NFL playoffs on a miracle TD pass by the Minnesota Vikings. Last season, they lost out on a trip to the Super Bowl when officials missed an obvious pass interference call against the Rams in the NFC Championship Game.
The Saints could’ve been finished when Brees went down. Instead, they were fortified.
Everybody eats today in New Orleans @Saints ⚜️😤#whodat #saints We 7-1 baybee! pic.twitter.com/KjB9N2kACU
— D'Vosha (@itsdeelite____) October 27, 2019
Last season, the 49ers’ season went off the rails when they lost QB Jimmy Garappolo to a season-ending knee injury. That didn’t happen to the Saints. Their collective psyches were tested and displayed no signs of mettle fatigue.
It’s never wise to bet against that sort of intestinal fortitude.
At this price, New Orleans is worth a play.
Pick: New Orleans Saints (+500).
Sports Writer
An industry veteran, Bob literally taught the course on the history of sports at Elder College. He has worked as a Sports Columnist for Postmedia, appeared as a guest on several radio stations, was the Vice President of the Society For International Hockey Research in Ontario, and written 25 books.
