Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
The Super Bowl is home to the big names, but also home to the big bets. It’s only fitting that this weekend’s Super Bowl LVIII is taking place in Las Vegas, home to many casinos and hotels in the area.
Allegiant Stadium, the host of this year’s Super Bowl, is just a minute’s walk from The Strip and some of the top hotels on Las Vegas Blvd. From the MGM Grand, the Bellagio, Caesars Palace, and The Venetian to Mandalay Bay, among others, there are plenty of options close to Allegiant Stadium, the home of the Las Vegas Raiders, for people to stay and possibly put down a bet.
However, this game features two of the Silver and Black’s biggest rivals in the San Francisco 49ers and their AFC foes, the Kansas City Chiefs, who are facing off for the Lombardi Trophy Sunday afternoon.
Kickoff between the two squads is slated for 6:30 p.m. ET.
There are many gambling opportunities for fans to take part in, both on and off the field.
From the length of the national anthem, what side the coin is going to land or what color the end-of-game Gatorade shower will be is all up grabs.
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On the field, there are opportunities both before and during the game for people to bet on. from how the first possession will end to what the score will be before Usher performs at halftime.
Since gambling is known for that lucky No. 7, here’s a look at seven in-game props to watch for Sunday’s big game. All bets are according to FanDuel as of Saturday at 1 p.m. ET
On FanDuel (and most sportsbooks), the spread is currently slated at 1.5 in favor of San Francisco, which dropped from 2.5 overnight.
As a result, the money line favors the 49ers to get their first Super Bowl title in 30 years, currently with -124 odds. Kansas City is currently +106 on their side of the money line.
The total, which represents the combined number of points between the two squads, is set at 47.5.
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All season long, Brock Purdy has willed this team to victory despite having deficits, especially during the postseason. Not only has he had success with his arms, but also his legs.
In his last two playoff games against Detroit and Green Bay, Purdy has totaled 46 and 15 rushing yards, respectively.
According to NFL’s Next Gen Stats, the Chiefs ranked third in the NFL with a 61.5% pressure rate on third-down blitzes, both during the regular season and in the playoffs.
As a result, Purdy’s legs are going to be just as instrumental, especially on the broken plays when he gets out of the pocket. His rushing prop currently sits at 12.5 yards, meaning three five-yard scrambles will be enough for this bet to go over.
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On FanDuel, positive odds in terms of his receiving yards begin at 80 or yards at +116. If Kelce reaches 100 receiving yards, the odds rise to +230. The four-time All-Pro tight end enters the Super Bowl, coming off catching all 11 passes for 116 yards against Baltimore in the AFC Championship.
Although it was Kelce’s first 100-yard game since October, he remains a focal point in the offense as long as he can get through San Francisco’s defense.
One thing to note is that during the NFC Championship game, Detroit tight end Sam LaPorta led the Lions in receiving with nine receptions for 97 yards on 13 targets against a zone defense that Kelce can figure out early and often, especially against a 49ers team that runs a lot of zone defenses.
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Although Chiefs rookie wide receiver Rashee Rice has not caught a touchdown in his team’s past two playoff games, Rice has been Mahomes’ go-to receiver, having caught eight receptions on nine targets for 46 yards.
Over his final six games of the regular season, Rice averaged more than nine targets and seven receptions for 86.3 yards with three touchdowns. And in the three playoff games, he has averaged eight targets and six receptions for nearly 75 yards with one touchdown, highlighted by his eight catch, 130-yard performance and a touchdown against Miami to kick off the playoff run.
As the season has progressed, the Kansas City’s offense had relied on both Rice and Kelce as Rice leads 17-16 in red zone targets this season and 6-5 in red zone touchdowns.
Currently, Rice sits at +145 as an anytime touchdown scorer.
Aside from Mahomes, no one is probably a bigger name on Sunday than 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, who was named Offensive Player of the Year during Thursday’s NFL Honors ceremony.
McCaffrey put up 21 touchdowns from scrimmage and is -210 to score a touchdown at anytime during the game. However, if he puts up multiple touchdowns, the odds swing in favor to the positive side.
If he puts up two touchdowns, the odds sit at +220. Three touchdowns and McCaffrey is sitting at +1100.
During the postseason and regular season combined, the two-time All-Pro had seven games with at least two touchdowns from the line of scrimmage, including two rushing touchdowns each of the last two games in the playoffs against Detroit and Green Bay.
Both kickers – San Francisco’s Jake Moody and Kansas City’s Harrison Butker – enter Sunday’s game needing 7.5 kicking points to go over.
As a result, that means each kicker needs at minimum two field goals and two extra points to reach the line.
Moody had a field goal success rate of 84% (21-for-25) during the regular season and 60% (3-for-5) during the postseason. He also went a perfect 7-for-7 in his extra point opportunities during the postseason, compared to going 21-25 after a 49ers touchdown.
On the other hand, Butker logged a season-high 94.3% (33-of-35) field goal success rate during the regular season, including 12-for-12 from at least 40 yards out. His success continued going a perfect 7-for-7 during the postseason on both his field goals and extra points.
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For Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes, his legs will have an opportunity to be just as powerful as his arm because of the 49ers’ pressure rate.
Mahomes’ rushing yards total is set at 25.5 (O: -115/U:-105) while his total carries is set at 4.5 (O: -122/U: +100) and him getting in the endzone.
Against San Francisco four years ago, Mahomes ran the ball nine times for 29 yards and a rushing touchdown.
Even in the last couple of playoff games against Buffalo and Baltimore, Mahomes has had to utilize his legs, needing to run the ball six times in both games for 19 and 15 yards, respectively.
The most popular same game parlay on FanDuel for the Super Bowl involves four legs in which more than 38,000 people have gambled on this particular parlay.
In order for the bet to succeed, it needs McCaffrey and Kelce to score a touchdown anytime during the game and Mahomes and Purdy to throw for more than 250 yards each among the alternate lines.
The current odds of that betting hitting is at +574, meaning that if you put $10 on that bet, the wager wins $57.50.
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