Super Bowl LI odds: Atlanta Falcons open as 3-point underdogs to the New England Patriots
The 2017 NFL playoffs have not been very entertaining if you’re a fan of close games. One game (Cowboys-Packers) was fantastic, another one (Chiefs-Steelers) was alright and the rest were boring. We need Super Bowl LI to make up for it, and Vegas appears to believe that could happen, if the line for the matchup in Houston on Sunday, Feb. 5 is any indication, reports CBSSports.com’s Will Brinson.
After dominating the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship, it appears the Patriots will be slight favorites over the Falcons, with New England checking in as a 3-point favorite over Atlanta at both 5 Dimes (offshore) and the Westgate Las Vegas Superbook.
SB LI
— Jeff Sherman (@golfodds) January 23, 2017
at Houston, Texas
Sunday, February 5, 2017
New England Patriots -3 -150
Atlanta Falcons 59 +130
After Matt Ryan and Julio Jones led a devastating attack over the Green Bay Packers in the NFC Championship, it appears oddsmakers expect more fireworks in two weeks. The real beauty of this is the possibility of a shootout coming, with the over/under of this game being set at 57.5 out of the gate.
That’s the highest number in Super Bowl history, narrowly beating out the 2009 Colts-Saints Super Bowl, which featured a total of 56.5 at close, per Pro-Football Reference.
It’s hard not to look for a huge game after the way the Patriots and Falcons looked on Sunday.
Matt Ryan and Atlanta absolutely carved up the Packers, with Ryan throwing for 392 yards and four touchdowns (no interceptions) in a game that was 24-0 at halftime and never close.
The Steelers gave Tom Brady and the Patriots less of a game, trailing 36-9 in the fourth quarter, when the books started to release the lines for Super Bowl LI. That’s how ugly the game, which ended with a 36-17 final, was: the line was already out there for the Falcons-Patriots matchup.
Notable from these lines: As Larry Harstein pointed out over on SportsLine, the underdog has covered 11 of the past 15 Super Bowls, with the dog barking for an outright win in eight of those games. (Three of them involved the Pats, who beat the Rams and lost to the Giants.)
The total is historically high, but in recent years the Super Bowl has leaned under on huge totals. In the four Super Bowls since 2000 with a total above 50, it has hit under ever time. Three of those also featured the Patriots, and the other was the 2009 matchup of Indy and New Orleans.