Rams Have Third-Best Super Bowl 56 Odds After Trading for Stafford

• The Los Angeles Rams are now the third betting choice to win Super Bowl 56 after acquiring quarterback Matthew Stafford
• LA and the 2021 NFC Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers at both at odds of +1100
• Only the defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (+575) and Green Bay Packers (+900) are offered at shorter odds

Matthew Stafford has never won a single playoff game in a dozen years as an NFL quarterback. However, after the Los Angeles Rams acquired the veteran QB on Saturday, oddsmakers are giving them a strong chance of winning the Super Bowl in 2022.

The Rams and the 2021 NFC Champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers are the co-third favorites to win it all next season in the Super Bowl odds. Both teams are listed with a betting line of +1100.

The defending Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs (+575) and Green Bay Packers (+900) are the only teams currently showing shorter odds to win the big game.

2022 Super Bowl Odds

Odds as of Jan. 31st.

Stafford was the first player chosen in the 2009 NFL Draft. In 12 seasons with the Detroit Lions, he’s 0-3 in the postseason.

Rams Pay Hefty Price for Stafford

The Rams weren’t even on the radar in the betting odds of which NFL club would prove to be Stafford’s next home when a prop wager was released shortly after word leaked that the Lions were parting ways with their longtime QB. Evidently, LA didn’t believe that Jared Goff was the guy who’d lead them to the promised land.

Goff, the first player chosen in the 2016 NFL Draft and the QB who took the Rams to Super Bowl 53, was packaged along with first-round draft picks in 2022 and 2023 and a third-round pick in 2021.

Matthew Stafford is LA bound. 😎 pic.twitter.com/b6stbYP8md

— NFL (@NFL) January 31, 2021

The Rams were the NFL’s #1 overall (281.9 yards per game), pass (10.7 YPG) and scoring (18.5 points per game) defense in 2020. However, they were just 11th in total offense (330.7 YPG) and the #13 passing offense (250.9 PPG).

Stafford threw the 5-11 Lions to the #10 spot in NFL passing at 256.5 yards per game.

Plenty of Weapons in LA

A gunslinger like Stafford will find plenty of options when he takes the field in LA. Receiving options include Robert Woods, Cooper Kupp, Tyler Higbee, Gerald Everett and Van Jefferson. Cam Akers, the Rams’ 2019 top draft pick, was emerging as a first-rate running back by late in the 2020 regular season.

Matthew Stafford is the 2nd QB to be traded for multiple 1st-round picks since 2000, with Jay Cutler in 2009 being the other.

It's the 2nd time in 3 years the Rams have made this type of trade (Jalen Ramsey in Oct. 2019) pic.twitter.com/xMx2jDKgDz

— ESPN Stats & Info (@ESPNStatsInfo) January 31, 2021

Stafford will also work behind an offensive line that will give him plenty of time to throw. The Rams allowed just 1.8 sacks per game this season. In Detroit, Stafford was sacked 2.6 times per game.

Rams Are Going for It

While the Lions are entering a rebuild under new GM Brad Holmes and new coach Dan Campbell, the Rams are in full go-for-it mode in terms of winning the Super Bowl. The dealing of the two first-round picks for Stafford means LA will go seven full years without taking a player in the first round. Oddly enough, their last first-round pick was Goff.

Considering the QB status of other contending NFC teams, the Rams are in pretty good shape. Tampa Bay’s Tom Brady (43) and Green Bay’s Aaron Rodgers (37) aren’t getting any younger. The future status of Drew Brees in New Orleans is uncertain.

https://twitter.com/IanKenyonNFL/status/1355737870938624001?s=20

Stafford is one of eight QBs in NFL history to pass for 5,000 yards in a season. He’s engineered 31 fourth-quarter comebacks and 38 game-winning drives.

The Rams are as solid a bet to go to the Super Bowl as any NFC team. They’re worth a small risk to win it all.

Pick: Los Angeles Rams (+1100).