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Super Bowl Shorts, Volume IV: The Prop Bets

| February 9th, 2023

Five fun bets for Super Bowl Sunday, and as always, the odds come from DraftKings Sportsbook


Coin Toss: Tails (+100)

Tails, it has been said, never fails. And if something never fails, why would you not place a wager on it?


Travis Kelce: First TD Scorer (+650)

How much explanation does this require? Kelce might be the best pass-catching tight end in the history of the league and he’s the favorite weapon of Patrick Mahomes. When they get down inside the red zone, Kelce is options one, two and three.


Jalen Hurts: Under 49.5 Yards Rushing (-115)

It’s been well over a month since Hurts has eclipsed fifty yards rushing, and he did so against the Bears on December 18th. Hurts is sort of an up-the-gut rusher, exploiting gaps left by interior DL. The Chiefs have some of the best players in the league in the interior of their DL. The Eagles will run the ball effectively, but not with the quarterback.


Chris Jones: Over 0.25 Sacks (-135)

Hard for me to imagine a scenario where Jones doesn’t get on the stat sheet. Not a ton of value here but you should be able to parlay it in some locations, perhaps with your choice to win the game on the money line.


DeVonta Smith: 125+ Receiving Yards and 1+ TD (+1000)

The odds are long for a reason. This is a long shot bet. But as someone who has earmarked Smith as a potential MVP of this game, I feel it’s worth a slight financial risk. $10 to win $110 sounds about right.

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Super Bowl Gambling Guide, Volume I: Silly Props

| February 1st, 2021


While this year won’t feature the large Super Bowl parties of pre-pandemic times (I hope), Super Bowls typically involve the interesting dynamic of football fans watching football with non-football fans. It’s not really a sporting event. It’s a television program, especially for neutral observers. I say embrace that element and bet accordingly. Give the non-football folks a chance to get in on the action.

Here are three props to do that. They all come from DraftKings Sportsbook.

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“Doink Special”

Any Field Goal or Extra Point to Hit Upright/Crossbar.

+400

Analysis: The over/under on this game is 56.5. The expectation is there will be points and that means lots of opportunities to doink a kick or two. At 4-1 odds, you’ll also have a good chance to make some money and the results/flow of the game will have zero impact on the likelihood of hitting. Neither of these teams has a “sit on the lead” mode.

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Opening Kickoff to NOT Result in a Touchback.

+230

Analysis: Two reasons I like this bet. (1) There is a lot of adrenaline stored up at the start of the Super Bowl and it’s easy to see Mickens OR Pringle OR Hardman deciding to take a shot on the opening kick. (2) It’s more fun than betting the coin flip, comes with better odds, and requires the same level of attention.

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First Second-Half Offensive Play From Scrimmage: Run

+115

Analysis: You’re getting a little drunk. You just sat through a 20-minute performance from someone called The Weekend. Your shirt looks like Jackson Pollock went to town on you with a combination of nacho cheese and buffalo sauce. The non-footballies are starting to lose interest.

First play, second half, all-in. Yes, you probably need to hope Tampa won the coin toss and deferred to the second half because I don’t see the Chiefs running the ball in this spot. But you’re getting positive odds so it’s worth the shot.


[Note: I went 5-1 on my bets over the Divisional and Championship rounds. But those were serious, thoughtful bets. These are not. These are the kinds of bets you make for entertainment purposes only. And believe me, you’ll enjoy them.]

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