After a thrilling start to NFL postseason, the league has a fascinating Super Bowl matchup between the AFC Champion New England Patriots and the NFC Champion Seattle Seahawks. While we still have over a week before the final countdown to kickoff, the action is already heating up on DraftKings Sportsbook, where the Seahawks are 4.5-point favorites with the total set at 45.5.
Let’s take a look at the early trends in the the betting splits and most popular player prop bets for Super Bowl Sunday.
Betting Splits
Starting with the moneyline, the majority of bets are actually coming in on the Patriots to win the game, partly due to the juicy +195 odds that many people are chasing. The handle, which represents the total amount bet, is much more evenly split, with Seattle holding a slight advantage. The disparity between the two numbers indicates that the bigger bets are coming in on the Seahawks at -238. The Seahawks were 15-1 as a favorite this year, while the Patriots were 4-2 as an underdog.
When you figure in the 4.5-point spread, the Seahawks are getting the vast majority of both the bets and the handle. Most people who are backing the Seahawks, don’t mind giving the points to get the much more favorable odds. The handle is a little more tilted toward Seattle than the percentage of bets in these splits, as well, indicating the bigger money is coming in on the ‘Hawks to cover. Seattle was 14-5 against the spread this season, while New England was 14-6.
As far as the point total, the over is getting most of the action in terms of both handle and number of bets. While both teams have strong defenses, the average total points for the Seahawks’ games this season was 46.3 points and, for the Patriots, the average was 44.5 points. The over hit in 11 of Seattle’s 19 games and in 12 of New England’s 20 contests.
Most Popular Player Props
Here are the top-five most-bet player props for Super Bowl LX (as of 1/28):
- Jaxon Smith-Njigba Anytime TD Scorer (-110)
- Rashid Shaheed Anytime TD Scorer (+370)
- Kayshon Boutte Anytime TD Scorer (+295)
- Kenneth Walker III Anytime TD Scorer (-180)
- Drake Maye Anytime TD Scorer (+310)
In the early build up to the big game, the public is leaning heavily into the anytime touchdown market, which is usually one of the busiest prop markets available. The most popular play on the board is Seahawks’ star receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba, who scored 10 touchdowns during the regular season. He also got into the end zone in each of Seattle’s playoff wins against the 49ers and the Rams.
The second-most popular play is also a Seahawks receiver, with Rashid Shaheed bringing longer odds at +370. Shaheed was acquired at the trade deadline from the Saints and didn’t have a receiving touchdown in any of his 11 games with the Seahawks, but the does have a pair of return touchdowns, and had a big 51-yard catch last week on a deep pass from Sam Darnold. The Seahawks’ receivers make for attractive plays as the Patriots allowed 19 wide receiver touchdowns in their 20 games throughout the postseason and regular season. Last week, Courtland Sutton had a touchdown in a losing effort in Denver, and Christian Kirk had a touchdown in New England’s Divisional Round tilt against the Texans.
Kenneth Walker III rounds out the three Seahawks in the top five of the most popular player props for the Super Bowl. Walker shared work with Zach Charbonnet most of the season, and Charbonnet was the preferred option near the goal line, leaving just five rushing scores for K9 in the regular season. However, in the playoffs, Walker already has four touchdowns in just two games. At -180 there is much less value in Walker’s anytime touchdown prop, but it also seems very likely to hit.
On the other side of the matchup, Kayshon Boutte is the top Patriots option on the most popular play board, out-ranking Stefon Diggs, who has slightly shorter odds at +240. Boutte scored six receiving touchdowns in the regular season and added a circus catch in the snow against the Texans to help put away that win.
The only touchdown the Patriots scored last week against the Broncos came on a Drake Maye QB sneak, and Maye’s anytime touchdown is at a strong +310 — the fifth-most bet player prop so far for the Super Bowl. Maye did have four regular-season rushing scores to go with his trip to the end zone last week, and we know offensive coordinator Josh McDaniels can scheme up some crazy stuff in the Super Bowl, as we’ve seen in the Patriots’ past appearances.
Get your bets set for the Super Bowl, whether you choose to chase or fade these early trends, and be sure to keep following DraftKings Network for all kinds of coverage leading up to kickoff of the big game next Sunday.
