As Super Bowl Sunday continues its rapid approach, sports bettors are frantically analyzing the spreads, money lines, and over/under bets in hopes of winning big come game time. This year will be a milestone year for the amount of money wagered on the Super Bowl, as Forbes estimates that over $16 billion has been placed on the big game.
Many of those bets will be placed on straightforward wagers, such as which team will emerge victorious, who will record the first score, and which player will be crowned the game’s Most Valuable Player. Other bets aren’t so straightforward, like which song Rihanna will perform first at halftime and how many times the word “Whopper” will be heard throughout the telecast. Whether your preference is to bet on the game itself or on the shenanigans happening off of the field, it’s always fun to play the odds. That being said, I’ve compiled a list of five wagers that sports bettors have been putting money on in hopes of winning some extra cash come Sunday.
Eagles vs. Chiefs over/under: 51 points
This bet definitely falls in the “straightforward” category that was mentioned previously. Caesars Sportsbook lists an over/under of 51 points — for those that aren’t familiar with sports betting, to wager on the “over” in this cause would be to wager that both the Chiefs and Eagles will combine to score over 51 points in Sunday’s season finale; vice versa, betting on the “under” would be to bet that both teams combine to score under 51 points.
Both Kansas City and Philadelphia possess elite offenses and had very little trouble scoring points in both the regular season and throughout the playoffs. In fact, throughout the regular season, the Chiefs averaged 29.2 points per game first in the NFL, while the Eagles weren’t far behind with 28.1 PPG, good enough for third. However, both squads differ more noticeably on the defensive side of the ball: Philadelphia allowed the second-least yards per game and the seventh-best points per game to opponents in 2022-23, while the Chiefs defense ranks in the middle third of the league in both statistics. Theoretically, it should be the Eagles that are able to put more points on the boards with more ease than Kansas City, though it’s hard to ignore the abilities of an Andy Reid-led offense as long as Patrick Mahomes remains healthy.
It’s hard to deny either team’s offense, but whether one or both defenses are able to step up and shut down their opponents throughout the game on Sunday will ultimately dictate how many total points are tallied. Each team has the playmakers to make a difference on defense, — players such as Philly’s Fletcher Cox, Brandon Graham, and Darius Slay and KC’s Frank Clark, Chris Jones and Justin Reid come to mind — though whether each unit can answer the challenge is ultimately what this bet comes down to. At the Spin Cycle, we believe that that challenge will be answered. With the eyes of America fixated on this game, we expect both defenses to come out with an extra pep in their step and completely locked in. This will not be a high-scoring slugfest that many are expecting. In fact, we believe the opposite: that scoring opportunities will be scarce and that points will need to be earned; we’ll take the under in this case.
How Long Will It Take Chris Stapleton To Sing The US National Anthem?
Chris Stapleton, known mostly for his 2015 country hit “Tennessee Whiskey,” will take the mic prior to kick off to deliver the national anthem. As of Wednesday, Bovada has placed the over/under of his performance as 2:05. At first, this wager seems like a surefire bet: the national anthem really isn’t an extensive song and shouldn’t take the typical person anywhere close to two minutes to complete. Without doing any research, one may be inclined to smash the “under” button since it seems like a surefire bet. However, once we dive a bit deeper into the history of the national anthem performance at the Super Bowl, an entirely new portrait is painted.
According to CBS Sports, seven of the previous 10 national anthem renditions have lasted for more than 2:00, including three of the previous four. The most recent country singer to perform the national anthem, Eric Church, took 2:16 alongside Jazmine Sullivan two years ago. Fans of Stapleton are familiar with his slow, powerful voice that includes the ability to draw out impressive vocals. While most fans will be tuning in to watch the game or maybe even the halftime show performed by Rihanna, plenty of eyes will be on Stapleton when presents the stars and stripes and he is unlikely to squander his chance to perform in the spotlight. That rationale, along with the trends set in previous Super Bowls suggests that Stapleton will go over the 2:05 currently set for him; at the Spin Cycle, we’ll bet on the “over.”
How Many Times Will Tom Brady Be Mentioned During The Super Bowl?
Everybody knows that Tom Brady, probably the greatest football player to even take the gridiron, is also the best athlete when it comes to success in the Super Bowl. The quarterback has made the big game 10 different times throughout his 23-year NFL career, winning a remarkable seven times, both the top mark in league history. His success in the past on Super Bowl Sunday has made him a key figurehead when fans come to think of the game, enough so that plenty of sports bettors believe that he’ll continue to leave his mark on the game’s telecast even after he officially announced his retirement from playing professional football.
As of Wednesday, Bovada has placed the over/under for the number of times that Brady is mentioned at 1.5. That means if they never mention him or do so just once, the under will hit, while mentioning him anything more than one time will mean that the over would hit. This is a tough one to predict, as the relatively recent news of Brady’s retirement along with his prowess in Super Bowl lore could make him a talking point at any point throughout the game. He’ll likely be mentioned in regards to one of his previous Super Bowl matchups with the Eagles, a team that beat him and will be taking the field on Sunday. While we’d like to think that Brady won’t be a subject of discussion throughout the broadcast and that all attention is placed on the players and teams going head-to-head, there’s simply too many opportunities for his name to pop up; we’ll take the over in this case.
