Super Bowl LI Betting Preview has arrived and what a mouth-watering clash we have on paper between Matt Ryan and the offensive juggernaut Falcons and the old hand of Brady and Bellichik. Read on for our Super Bowl LI preview!
The Patriots have been a consensus Super Bowl pick among recreational and professional players all season long but it will surprise many that the Atlanta Falcons have been able to make it all the way through.
Here’s how they did it.
A career year from Matt Ryan
Career highs in passing yard, completion percentage, QBR, touchdowns, touchdown to interception ratio and yards per play whilst having the least amount of interceptions of his career!
Playmakers delivering haymakers
The Falcons offense is stacked full of playmakers including offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan who has had an outstanding year that will likely land him a head coaching role very shortly.
Julio Jones is simply the best receiver in Football right now.
Devonta Freeman and Tevin Coleman one-two punch.
These two running backs have exceeded expectations throughout the season and have flourished running against open boxes as the opposing defenses struggle to contain the passing game.
Both players have breakaway potential and can score multiple touchdowns on a given night.
What about those Patriots
Just your usual run of the mill, 14-2 season for the Patriots followed by two double-digit home playoff wins.
They continue to set the standard and have done so this year largely without Rob Gronkowski who has been seen as their second most important player in recent years.
Every time someone at ESPN questions Tom Brady’s form he comes out and has a standout game.
The Falcons defense although much improved this season certainly will not be worrying Brady and the Patriots offense like a Denver, New York Giants, Ravens or even the Chiefs unit would.
Current Odds from Pinnacle Sports
Looking ahead to the big game and the current odds at Pinnacle Sports.
The line has moved a little bit with the Patriots favorites at either -3 or -3.5 depending on where you do your shopping.
The points total is at a whopping 58.5 indicating the nuetral fan should see a lot of points in this clash.
NRG Stadium – Advantage who?
The game will be played on a neutral field (Houston) in a dome.
Atlanta’s home field in Georgia is a dome stadium while the Patriots play outside in Foxboro.
There is no doubt that if this game was played outdoors in the cold the Patriots would be favorites by something closer to five or six points.
Strictly geographically speaking, there should be slightly more Atlanta fans at the game but the Patriots fan base is large and if we were to estimate any slight home-field advantage it would lie with the Patriots.
The Falcons won 8 of 10 games played in a dome this season with their two losses games that they really should have won. (one point against KC and three points v San Diego).
The Patriots haven’t played indoors since their 23-20 over the Arizona Cardinals way back in Week 1.
Team news, injuries and overview
If you were to name the five most important players in this game – they are all healthy and set to play.
So we don’t expect late injury news to impact line movement too much but here is a quick update on players under an injury cloud.
.@alexmack55 walking to the #Falcons bus to head to practice. Walking okay despite his injury #RiseUp #SuperBowl pic.twitter.com/RBwPKQFrJb
— 11Alive Sports (@11AliveSports) January 30, 2017
New England Patriots
Atlanta Falcons
**We fully expect Julio Jones to play.
The Patriots have become famous for shutting opposing star receivers down and daring the support cast of receivers and tight ends to beat them.
That strategy has worked exceptionally well of course and no doubt more of the same is coming this Sunday.
Jones’ battle with Malcolm Butler and Logan Ryan on the outside will go a long way to deciding this Football game.
Super Bowl LI Preview Tip
This game is exceptionally well handicapped by the oddsmakers. Our projected total is just one point shy of the current points total line and we predict a tight finish.
Punting Stars is tipping a New England Patriots victory.
Projected score: New England 30 – Atlanta 27