Bettors don't want to believe anything is pre-determined. Who cares that Seattle scored on a safety to open their game against Denver four years ago? Who cares that the Pats took a 7-0 lead on Seattle three years back? The Broncos jump out to a 3-0 lead over Carolina two years ago - so what? Both teams still have a good shot at winning, right? Actually no, not really. Let?s have a look at the numbers which tell a different story. Through the first 51 Super Bowls, the team that has scored first has won an amazing 75% of the time (38-13) and has gone 37-12-2 against the spread in the process. It doesn?t matter if that team was the underdog or the favorite? the team to put up points first has a huge advantage in winning this game. The last seven Super Bowls have seen the YES come through on this prop bet six out of seven times. New England?s epic comeback last year was the lone loss. Over the past 29 years, the YES on this has hit 19 times (66%). At a 66% win rate, the fair line on this bet is around -195. At the longer term rate of 75%, the fair line is -300. Yet, we get odds of -170 on this bet, providing value. Bet the YES on this prop.
These Pro Picks were released to clients on January 29, 2018 at 4:24PM ET.
Philadelphia vs. New England
February 4, 2018
2 units on Team to Score First Wins the Game = YES (risk 2 to return 5.18)
Result:
WIN
WIN
2 units on Philadelphia +4.5 (-105) (risk 2 to return 3.9)
Result:
WIN
WIN
0.5 unit on Philadelphia +175 (moneyline) (risk 0.5 to return 1.38)
Result:
WIN
WIN
1 unit on Game Total UNDER 48.5 +100 (risk 1 to return 2)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
2 units on First Quarter UNDER 9.5 (risk 2 to return 6.1)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
2 units on Fourth Quarter OVER 13.5
(risk 2 to return 5.67)
Result:
WIN
WIN
2 units on Highest-Scoring Quarter = 4th (risk 2 to return 7.5)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
2 units on Highest-Scoring Half = 2nd+OT (risk 2 to return 5.88)
Result:
WIN
WIN
1.5 units on Longest Touchdown OVER 44.5 yards (risk 1.5 to return 4.43)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
2 units on Either Team Scores 3 Unanswered = YES (risk 2 to return 5.14)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
2 units on Longest Field Goal UNDER 47.5 yards (risk 2 to return 5.82)
Result:
WIN
WIN
2 units on Total Field Goals UNDER 3.5 (risk 2 to return 5.74)
Result:
LOSS
LOSS
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