The New England Patriots will win Super Bowl 50 if bettors in Las Vegas are correct.
The defending NFL champions are favored for this Sunday’s matchup against the Denver Broncos and are expected to beat the NFC Champion regardless of whether it’s the Carolina Panthers or Arizona Cardinals. The Patriots are one-point favorites over both the Cardinals and Panthers should New England reach the main event.
This Sunday, the AFC and NFC Championships will be held, and despite being the visiting team, Tom Brady’s squad is still expected to top Peyton Manning’s Broncos.
The consensus among the most popular sportsbooks looks as follow:
AFC Championship NFC Championship
New England -3.0 Arizona -3.0
Denver+3.0Carolina+3.0
Super Bowl 50 (L) will be held February 7 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, California, home of the San Francisco 49ers.
Brady vs. Manning
Sunday’s matchup will bring two of the game’s all-time great quarterbacks to opposing sidelines for the 17th time.
Manning averages more yards per game (300 to 250) in those games and has thrown more touchdowns (33-21), but he’s also thrown more interceptions (22-13) and been sacked more times (29-24). Overall, Brady’s Patriots have a commanding 11-5 record over Manning-led teams when he was in Indianapolis and now Denver.
A 3.0-point spread is certainly nothing that shows an overwhelming sense of confidence among bettors or that this game will be a runaway. Any time a spread can be covered by a field goal or even a two-point safety means the game will be close more often than not.
Betting against Brady or Manning has historically never been a good strategy, but if you want a stake in this game, you’ll must.
Cam vs. Carson
Though the “undercard” game doesn’t feature two future Hall of Famers under center, it does come with two teams holding better records than the Patriots and Broncos.
At 15-1, the Panthers, led by quarterback Cam Newton, own the best record in the NFL and come armed with the best offense in the league. Quarterback Carson Palmer’s 13-3 Cardinals have the second-best offensive attack, and pair it will the fifth-ranked defense.
The two teams are worthy opponents, but the Panthers have a distinct advantage by hosting the game in Charlotte, a place where they haven’t lost since November of 2014.
Arizona coach Bruce Arians says he likes his team being the underdog, as they now have nothing to lose. Regarding Palmer’s conservative play recently, Arians said, “I think that was part of ‘I don’t want to screw this up.’ … We can go back to ourselves.”
History Repeats
Before you go running to the Strip to place your bets on the Patriots and coach Bill Belichick winning his seventh Super Bowl ring, keep in mind that while Vegas’ track record with sports is uncanny in its accuracy, its performance in America’s biggest game isn’t quite as impressive.
Over the last 15 years, the Super Bowl favorite in Las Vegas has gone on to win the game just four times.
The most gambled-on sporting event in the United States, this weekend the Super Bowl comes together.
Who do you got?
