Without the Denver Broncos in the hunt, the New England Patriots have become the heavy favorites to win the Super Bowl, with the San Francisco 49ers a close second favorite.
At almost even odds, the Patriots are now on top of our "futures" odds, the future being three weeks away and feeling like the "In the Year 2000" skits Conan O'Brien would do in December of 1999. The 49ers are a 2-to-1 bet now. Great to double up your money. In a typical futures table that doesn't look so hot, but that's what happens when there are only four teams left.
After today, futures are no more, and it's simply Super Bowl game odds and prop bets (some of my favorite). Then, shortly after the Super Bowl is played, the full futures line will come out again for next season, the highest form of speculation there is.
| Team | Fractions | American Odds |
|---|---|---|
| Patriots | 11 to 10 | +110 |
| 49ers | 2 to 1 | +200 |
| Falcons | 11 to 2 | +550 |
| Ravens | 8 to 1 | +800 |
Below are the individual game odds. The home spread is listed, meaning the 49ers are favored in Atlanta, and projected to win by more than a field goal.
| Away Team | Home Team | Home Spread |
|---|---|---|
| 49ers | Falcons | +3.5 |
| Ravens | Patriots | -7.5 |
Prop bets
Proposition bets are based on usually anything other than the game's outcome. Betting on the coin toss, first team to take a penalty, first team to turn over the ball, etc. Regular season games don't usually have a lot of prop bets available, but when the playoffs come around, there are more and more until we get to the Super Bowl, when the list gets ridiculous.
Sample prop bet from today: who will have more passing yards: Tom Brady or Matt Ryan? Brady, giving Ryan 16.5 yards, is still a 5-to-9 favorite.
Once again, I grabbed the odds from bet365 with no linking due to paranoia, but with netiquette guilt.
