The matchup for this NFL season’s Super Bowl has been set. The AFC Champion Kansas City Chiefs will be making their first appearance in the title game in 50 years. The NFC’s San Francisco 49ers will be playing in their seventh Super Bowl in franchise history while going for their sixth win.
The Chiefs have been opened as slight 1.5-point favorites but you can already find a few one-point spreads across the board at the top-rated online sportsbooks taking action on the game. The opening total line was 52.5 points and it has already moved to 53.5 points with most online books. The general consensus on the moneyline has the Chiefs set as -125 favorites with more favorable +105 odds for San Francisco.
Given just how close this matchup is expected to be, the spread may actually move towards a pick to also even out the moneyline odds. The simple fact that there are two weeks before kickoff on Sunday, Feb. 2 adds some more strategy behind betting the game early.
If you like San Francisco to come out on top, pulling the trigger on a moneyline bet would be the best way to go. The tight spread is unlikely to come into play so taking the one or 1.5 points right now at the standard -110 juice does not make all that much sense. If you can get plus money on the 49ers, now is the time to place that bet in anticipation of the lines moving closer together.
If you like Kansas City in this matchup, betting the actual game could be a ‘wait and see’ situation. The early movement from the opening lines tend to reflect the bulk of the money going towards the current underdog. If that continues, more and more value would shift towards the Chiefs.
Betting the total line comes down to how you see things playing out. These two teams combined for 72 points in the recent conference championship games. The total has gone OVER in the Chiefs’ first two playoff games after staying UNDER in their final five regular season games. Their overall success is predicated on scoring more points than their opponents.
San Francisco turned things around on a dime this season behind a shutdown defense that was ranked second in the NFL in yards allowed while giving up an average of 19.4 points per game.
As two interesting side stats, Kansas City’s defense only allowed 19.3 PPG and the 49ers were second in the league in scoring with 29.9 points a game.
The Super Bowl is sports betting’s biggest stage. It is hard to see this matchup turning into a low-scoring grinder given the overall star power on each offense. If you like the total going OVER the current 53.5-point line, you might want to also pull the trigger on that bet now in anticipation of a higher total line come Sunday, Feb. 2.
What makes this game standout from all the rest from a betting standpoint is the sheer number of prop bet options that will also be released over the next two weeks. Betting scoring props can be the perfect way to compliment any actual game bets you place. If you have Kansas City winning in a shootout, then betting the OVER on Patrick Mahomes’ props as the Chiefs’ starting quarterback would be the way to go.
The best strategy for betting any props is to first play out the game in your head. You can bet with that scenario to double down on the action or against it as a way to hedge your actual game bets.
