Seattle Opens as Solid Favorite
Super Bowl LX is set, and the NFL odds have the Seattle Seahawks as 4.5-point favorites over the New England Patriots with the total set at 45.5.
The Seahawks earned their way to the Feb. 8 game at Levi’s Stadium with a thrilling win over the Los Angeles Rams.
Earlier Sunday, the Patriots dusted the Denver Broncos, 10-7, in a game that saw the second half played in a driving snowstorm.
Why Seattle Is a Strong Favorite
The Seahawks earned their way to favoritism in NFL odds with strong play in the regular season that garnered them the No. 1 seed in the NFC.
They won the NFC West, the best division in football, and rolled past division teams, the 49ers and Rams, to get to the championship game.
This is a balanced team on many fronts. The defense is fierce.
Good luck to any team that tries to run on it. The secondary was shaky against the Rams, but don’t be too harsh on it because Los Angeles has one of the best passing games in the NFL.
When making a Super Bowl bet, focus on the strength of Seattle on offense, which is all of it. New England made Denver look meek, but the Broncos had a backup quarterback playing in awful weather.
The Seahawks have a great running game with Kenneth Walker III, and Sam Darnold can take his pick of elite receivers.
Jaxon Smith-Njigba is borderline unrecoverable. Against the Rams, he had 10 catches for 153 yards and a touchdown.
Add in Rashid Shaheed and the great veteran Cooper Kupp, and one can see why Darnold is thriving after signing as a free agent in the offseason.
Michael Dickson is one of the best punters in the game, and Jason Myers is usually money when trying field goals.
Coach Mike Macdonald has done a great job in putting this team together.
Patriots Product of Incredible Turnaround
Mike Vrabel was hired to be the Patriots’ coach this year, and not many people gave New England a chance when it came to Super Bowl odds.
There was a good reason, as the Patriots had gone 4-13 in each of the last two seasons.
They found their way to the big game this year as the second seed in the AFC. New England went 14-3 in the regular season and won home games against the Chargers and Texans in the postseason at home before beating the Broncos.
New England has allowed 26 points in the three postseason wins.
If one wants to make a Super Bowl bet on the Pats, they will be banking on the defense to come up big again.
Drake Maye could be the NFL MVP off his regular-season performance, but he has been shaky in the playoffs.
Not bad but not great, either. He doesn’t have the talent around him that Darnold does. However, wide receivers Mack Hollins and Stefon Diggs are dependable targets.
On defense, the Pats spent money to bring in free agents like Milton Williams, who won a Super Bowl last year as an Eagle.
Vrabel was a linebacker during the Pats’ dynasty teams, and he has created a unit with the same attitude he had: play tough and stuff foes.
The kicking game would tend to favor the Seahawks. Bryce Baringer is not as good a kicker as Dickson, and Andy Borregales is a rookie.
He was 1-for-3 in the unfavorable weather conditions in the AFC Championship Game, granted one was a 63-yard attempt heading into the half.
While the early lean on Super Bowl odds could be toward New England, one should remember that years ago, a discounted Patriots team faced a powerhouse St. Louis Rams team, and a young QB named Tom Brady led that NE squad to an upset.
