The Superbowl is arguably the most important game of the year, second only to the annual American football season finale, which determines the champion of the world. With temperatures in the south of England reaching a peak, and with the usual betting mania that accompanies any big game, it’s time for us to revisit the subject of wagering and see which teams are most likely to succeed or fail in the big game this year.
Eagles vs. Patriots Odds
When it comes to handicapping the Superbowl, which will be held at the end of February in Miami, it’s best to begin by looking at the favorite to win. The betting public generally views the New England Patriots as overwhelming underdogs going into the big game, with Ladbrokes offering odds of 9½ to 1 against the defending Superbowl champs.
The Eagles are viewed as long shots to win, with the betting agency Betting Odds offering odds of 7 to 2 against the defending champions. It’s been a while since our last Superbowl pick’s win, but we’ve got a good feeling about this year’s matchup. The Eagles will undoubtedly be trying to prove that last year’s upset loss in the Superbowl was a fluke, and they’ll certainly need some help from the Patriots getting down under 2½ goals.
How The Patriots Became Underdogs
The Patriots were ranked No. 1 in the preseason polls and were undefeated heading into the Superbowl prior to their loss to the Eagles last year. Since then, they’ve lost two games and have scored just 28 points in the two contests. Even though New England is still one of the best teams in the NFL, they’re not near the same level of dominance they were at the start of the season.
The Patriots aren’t taking the Eagles lightly this year, and they won’t be lacking motivation to prove that their preseason ranking was justified. We’ll shortly examine why the Patriots are perceived as underdogs, but first let’s take a quick look at how they’ve performed this season.
Season Statistics So Far
Overall, the 2017 season has seen the Patriots accumulate 24 wins and four losses, scoring an amazing 368 points while allowing 284 points.
To put that into some context, consider that the Pats offense has outscored their opponents 464 to 219, which is the highest differential in the league. They’ve also outscored their opponents 710 points to 516, which is the best in the NFL.
Why The Patriots Are Now Underdogs
The Patriots’ loss to the Eagles in the 2017 Superbowl left a bad taste in the mouths of many long-time fans and saw them shift from perennial favorites to underdog status. Since then, they’ve lost their last two games, the most recent one being a nail-biter against the Tennessee Titans.
The Titans nearly upset the favoured Patriots in a 41-39 thriller that went into overtime. The loss was especially painful because it came at the end of a 16-game season and the Patriots had already secured their fifth straight AFC East title. New England had also been untouchable up to that point, leading the division for 13 weeks before the loss to the Titans.
Titans fans will remember what happened next as the team secured their first-ever Superbowl victory, punching their collective ticket to the big game with a 24-20 win over the Los Angles Rams.
The Rams Are One Of The Best Groups Of Underdogs To Be Betting On
Although the Pats are one of the best teams in the NFL, it’s not exactly a secret that they’re not easy to bet on, as oddsmakers don’t tend to favor them. This season, Las Vegas casinos have made sure to hedge their bets by adjusting the odds on the Patriots, as they currently sit at 7 to 2 in favor of the underdogs.
The 2017 regular season has seen the Patriots struggle at times, particularly early in the year. They started the season 0-2, but then won their next eight games, putting them in position to secure a first-round bye and homefield advantage in the playoffs. They followed that up with an 11-5 record in the first half of the year, which garnered them lots of points and helped their odds improve.
One of the best things that can happen to a football team is securing a first-round bye and homefield advantage in the NFL playoffs. Both are huge advantages, not just in terms of beating your opponents, but in terms of pacing yourself for the big game. If the Patriots manage to stay healthy throughout the postseason, they are a surefire bet to win the Superbowl.
The Underdog’s Advantage
Just like any other sport, there’s an advantage to being an underdog. In most cases, you’re expected to lose, and that makes you better at picking games than most people. The key to winning as an underdog is to keep your head held high and make the most of your situations. That’s exactly what the Eagles are doing, as they don’t view themselves as underdogs, but as the underdogs’ underdogs. They’ll be looking to prove that last year’s big upset was no fluke.
The underdog’s mindset can also help you in generating better odds. Because people believe you’re less likely to win, they’ll offer you less money to bet on you – win or lose. That makes it easier for you to justify backing a lesser-known team, as you don’t have to worry about getting overly excited about an unlikely victory. If the Eagles were to win the Superbowl, it would be a huge upset, so sportsbooks would have to take that into consideration and offer them better odds.
Eagles vs. Patriots Betting Predictions
With the regular season over and the New England Patriots emerging as the clear-cut favorites to win the Superbowl, it’s time to examine which team we think is most likely to dethrone them at the end of this year.
Based on what we know about the two teams, it’s difficult to make a prediction and not be at least slightly biased. The Patriots are the defending Superbowl champions and, at this stage, there’s no one-upmanship in football.
The Eagles, on the other hand, have a chip on their shoulder, as they feel that they were wrongly accused of tampering with footballs last year. As winners of the NFL’s champion trophy, they’re also motivated to prove that last year’s fluke was an anomaly and not a trend.
When it comes to betting predictions for the Superbowl, it’s best to simply use a combination of logical reasoning and gut instinct. We’ll start with the former and form our opinion based on how the teams have performed this season and their historical performance in the big game. As for the latter, it’s difficult to judge which team is more likely to win based on their current form alone, as it’s not always the case that a team’s current showing predicts their future performance. The truth is that we just don’t know how these two teams will behave going into the Superbowl. We can make educated guesses, but that’s all they are – educated guesses.
Logical Thinking
The fact that New England is the defending Superbowl champions has serious implications for how we perceive their odds of winning this year’s big game. Simply put, we know how dominant they can be and it makes it more difficult to justify betting against them. Not only that, but we’ve seen in the past that they can be rather fragile when it comes to injuries and illnesses. It would be no wonder if the Patriots have taken some precautionary measures in order to be assured of being 100 percent for the big game. That means they might not be at their best, which is usually the case when champion teams arrive in the playoffs. This can also be an advantage for the underdogs, as we know the Patriots will be playing their absolute best.