The best part of Super Bowl weekend, besides the actual game, is society’s temporary acceptance of compulsive, degenerate gambling. It’s great.
Last year I wagered on the length of the national anthem, the result of the coin toss, AND the amount of clothing Fergie would wear during the halftime show. I lost on all three of those bets, but the point is it was awesome.
To keep the degeneracy alive I’ve compiled a list of my favorite prop bets for this year’s Super Bowl. For your convenience I’ve stuck to only underdog bets to maximize potential profits.
Enjoy the list, but please gamble responsibly.
1) Super Bowl MVP
This is one of the most common wagers of any Super Bowl weekend, and more often than not your best bet is to go with the quarterback of the team you think is going to win. In my case? Eli Manning (+175). But it’s his counterpart Tom Brady (+125) who is the overall favorite according to the odds.
If you want a longshot pick for this, I love Rob Gronkowski (+800). If the Patriots win and Rob has a big game, the media will be drooling over him. Beast tight end overcomes devastating ankle injury to lead his team to victory? Every sports journalist with a laptop or a microphone is getting excited just by the thought of it. He’s the only player I could see besides the two quarterbacks with enough media love to win it.
ELI MANNING (+175) RISK: $20 RETURN: $55
ROB GRONKOWSKI (+800) RISK: $20 RETURN : $180
2) How many different New York Giants player will have at least one pass reception? OVER 7.5 (-180) UNDER 7.5 (+150)
Bet the under. RISK: $20 RETURN: $50
When the Giants and the Patriots squared off in November, New York played without Hakeem Nicks but still had six different receivers catch passes. Add him back in and that’s still only seven, one away from being over.
In their previous Super Bowl matchup, Eli spread the ball around to seven different receivers, still one below the eight needed to go over. What am I missing? Eight players is a lot, that’s the majority of the skill position players that take a snap. No way. My money is on the under.
3) The first score of the game will be?
TOUCHDOWN (-190) ANY OTHER SCORE (+155)
Both their previous Super Bowl matchup and their game in November began with a Giants field goal. And in both cases, the team that scored first (Giants) won the game. I could see both of these defensive units playing a ‘bend don’t break’ game, and that means we could be stuck watching a lot of field goals. Why not one at the beginning of the game, too? Rusty offenses that haven’t played in two weeks? I like it. Bet on the field goal.
RISK: $20 RETURN: $51
4) Which QB will score a rushing TD first?
BRADY (-300) MANNING (+220)
Bet on Eli. RISK: $20 RETURN: $64
It’s true, Brady has more rushing touchdowns (10) for his career than Manning does (4), but Eli will have more opportunities to rush in this game. Brady doesn’t like to put his fragile hair in harm’s way, so he avoids rushing against quick, hard-hitting defenses like the Giants. The last two times Brady has played against the Giants he rushed the ball a combined one time. Eli, by comparison, rushed the ball six times. That’s 600% more rushing attempts. More rushes means more chances to break one off into the end zone. Or you never know, maybe Victor Cruz salsa’s himself out of bounds at the 1 and Eli has to rush it in.
Added bonus – if neither of the QBs have a rushing touchdown, you get your money back! PUSH!
5) LONGSHOT SPECIAL – Will their be a successful 2-point conversion?
YES (+350) NO (-500)
Picture this-
4th quarter. The Giants pass rush has been getting to Brady all game. They’re down 21-10, they’ve got the ball and they’re driving for a touchdown. Welker breaks free, scores, and everyone is going nuts. What happens next? Two point conversion time!
Come on, that could totally happen. Yes, its a longshot, but its not impossible and the odds are nice. You could switch the names around in the above scenario and its still very possible. What if it’s a blowout and one team is desperately trying to come back from a 23-7 deficit late in the game? They would need two scores and of course, two two-point conversions, right?
I’ve totally talked myself into this one. It’s probably a waste of twenty bucks but…
RISK: $20 RETURN: $90
Which brings our grand totals to -
RISK: $120
POTENTIAL REWARD: $435
EXPECTED REWARD: $0
Good luck everyone and Happy Super Bowl!
Super Bowl Prop Bets is a post from: Touchdown LA
