The New England Patriots and Los Angeles Rams are set to square off in Super Bowl LIII. In addition to the great matchups across the field, there are a number of fun prop bets to look at.
Will a famed restaurant franchise break from tradition and open its doors? We know that President Donald Trump enjoys tweeting. Will we see more than six tweets from him on Super Bowl Sunday?
Of course, the Super Bowl MVP odds are important. But we also need to know what color liquid will be dumped over the head of Bill Belichick and Sean McVay when the game is over.
These are the 10 most interesting bets to look at on Super Bowl Sunday and what we’d do with them.
Bets and odds courtesy of Bovada.
Will the Chick-Fil-A Franchise in Mercedes-Benz Stadium be Open On Super Bowl Sunday?
The negative bet checks in at -950. The payoff isn’t worth the investment. The positive is currently slotted at a much more inviting +525. But while it’s more inviting, it’s not inviting enough. In MLB, NBA or NHL, this would be a different story. Their championship games are frequently played in front of much bigger crowds than we see in the regular season.
But in football, pretty much every game is played to a packed house. So, should it remain closed, the Chick-Fil-A at Mercedes-Benz stadium wouldn’t be turning away significantly more potential customers than it would on a random Sunday afternoon in October. Long odds are obviously tempting. But in this case, they’re long for a reason. Put your money elsewhere.
How long will it take Gladys Knight to sing the US National Anthem (O/U: 1 minute, 45 seconds)
While one minute and 45 seconds might not feel like a terribly long time, the smart money is on the under. A 1991 rendition of Knight singing The Star Spangled Banner is available on YouTube. In that, it takes Knight approximately one minute and 32 seconds to complete the song “From moment she sings first word until she completes saying Brave for the first time.” That was obviously a long time ago and Knight could change her rendition up some. But adding 13 seconds to something that’s previously taken only 92? While not impossible, it’s a tough task.
Will any scoring drive take less time than it takes Gladys Knight to sing the National Anthem?
For the sake of this argument, let’s assume that Knight’s Super Bowl rendition takes exactly as long as 1991’s. In the conference championship games, both the Rams and Patriots scored touchdowns on drives that took less than 1 minute, 32 seconds. New England also surrendered two such touchdown drives. Additionally, Los Angeles both kicked and surrendered a field goal in less time, while the Pats allowed a field goal in less than 40 seconds. Scoring that fast is not easy. Even with that understood, we’d say that this seems pretty likely.
Total Donald Trump Tweets on February 3rd? (O/U: 6)
If the government shutdown is still going, this could well pay off before kickoff. President Trump will also be interviewed before the game. We’d expect at least one tweet both before and after the interview. Within the game itself, we’d expect to see tweets about Patriots owner Robert Kraft (a friend of the President). Given his animosity towards the NFL, we also wouldn’t be surprised to see him call the game boring (or something similar), especially if the game takes a while to really get going.
Regardless of what you think about President Trump or his politics, he clearly feels Twitter is the best way to get his message across. Given all of the possible subjects to tweet about, one half-dozen tweets on Super Bowl Sunday feels like a conservative guess.
Will a fan run onto the field during the game?
We must remember that this happened during both the AFC Championship Game and the National Championship. Now, a case could be made that this will only make security tighter. There’s something to be said for that. Because of that, we wouldn’t advise betting much. But +700 odds are pretty darn inviting. Make no mistake; this kind of behavior isn’t endorsed. We don’t want to see anyone do it. But there are a lot of weird people out there, especially when they alcohol gets flowing. If it’s going to happen, you might as well make some money off of it, right?
Will a non-QB throw a touchdown?
The yes on this bet is going off at +325, which sounds like a decent return. Between Julian Edelman’s past as a quarterback, McVay’s offensive creativity, and that fact that we’re only one year removed from the famed “Philly Special,” this might seem like a somewhat likely occurrence. But Trey Burton’s pass to Nick Foles in Super Bowl LII was only the fourth time in the history of the Super Bowl that a touchdown pass was thrown by someone other than a quarterback. Prior to that, it hadn’t happened since Antwaan Randle El hit Hines Ward in Super Bowl XL. Randle El was the first non-QB to throw a touchdown in 26 years.
If you can find somewhere where the odds are more like +500 or greater, this might be worth taking. But short of that, this feels like throwing money away.
Will both teams combined score 76 or more points to break the Super Bowl record?
The record of 75 points has stood for 24 years. Until last year (when the Patriots and Eagles fell one short), it was rarely ever approached. But this feels like a good play, especially if you’re a neutral fan hoping for a lot of action. We’ve seen that high powered offenses can score quickly on New England. While the Rams have definite talent on defense, they have some holes that can be exploited. Tom Brady doesn’t generally miss those opportunities. We’d like a better payoff than +350. That said, this record feels vulnerable.
Will either team not punt during the game?
As we’ve already covered, we think this game will be high scoring. If you go along with that, the next question is, do you think this game will be close? A blowout would likely feature punts from both teams (the losing team early, the winning team late). The history of the Brady and Belichick Pats says that yes, a close Super Bowl is a virtual certainty. Also, unlike the total points bet, a +750 payoff is unquestionably worth looking at. And if you’re really daring, you can bet both of these and supplement any potential winnings.
Super Bowl MVP?
If the MVP is not Brady (+110) or Jared Goff (+225), there’s some potential to win some good money here. Excluding the two quarterbacks, the “favorite” is Todd Gurley, who’s currently listed at +1400. After Gurley and Sony Michel (+1600), we have C.J. Anderson, James White, and Aaron Donald all going off at +2000. Frankly, all of those guys are interesting. But Donald in particular strikes out fancy.
It’s not like we’ve never seen a defender win the MVP. Three years ago, Von Miller won the award for what he did against Cam Newton? It’s not hard to imagine Donald doing that against Brady. In fact, other than the quarterbacks, we’d say Donald is the most likely winner. After him, we have Julian Edelman at +2500, and then Brandin Cooks, Robert Woods, and Rob Gronkowski all at +4000. We like Donald’s odds the most. But there are plenty of ways to make some good money here if you’re willing to roll the dice.
What color will the liquid be that is poured on the game winning Coach?
The best bet here is clear/water at +400. While the odds say otherwise, this actually feels like the most likely scenario. Given that you’d be getting 4:1 odds, this is a sensible bet. Given that it’s a main color for both teams, blue at +375 might seem tempting. But generally, players tend to consume drinks high in Vitamin C on the sidelines. That would tend to point to lime/green/yellow (+225) or orange (+300). Water feels like the smartest bet. But if you’re not wild about that, one of those two would give you the best return on your investment.