The New England Patriots are still being favored to win Super Bowl LII over the Philadelphia Eagles by 4.5 points. But the betting public isn’t buying that narrative. Not one little bit.
ESPN’s David Payne Purdum reported Monday that the overwhelming majority of bets are going for the Eagles to beat the Pats in Super Bowl LII.
Eagles vs. Patriots (-4.5, 48): Twice as many bets, nearly 3 times as much money has been wagered on the Eagles @CaesarsPalace books.
— David Payne Purdum (@DavidPurdum) January 29, 2018
Now, you won’t hear any argument from me. I’ve already laid out in some detail why the Eagles are going to beat the Patriots, which you can read about here.
Still, this is pretty stunning. It appears many people have bought into either the Eagles as a dynamo or the notion that the Patriots’ time as the NFL’s king of the hill is finally at an end. Perhaps all the reports of discord between Tom Brady, Bill Belichick and Robert Kraft have something to do with it all. Who really knows?
Or, perhaps everyone is just being swept away with the notion that the Eagles really are Rocky Balboa and the Patriots really are Ivan Drago.
Whatever the reasons this is all happening, you can bet the Patriots are taking notes. Bulletin-board material seems to be their specialty, and you can bet they’ll use this as added motivation in the upcoming championship game.