Patriots vs. Falcons Super Bowl LI: Coin Toss, Player Prop Bets

There’s a huge NFL game upcoming, the best of the AFC against the greatest of the NFC: Ladies and gentlemen, we give you this Sunday’s Pro Bowl! While you can bet on the winning league in that game here at Sports Interaction, let’s instead roll out our first props coverage for the February 5 Super Bowl LI in Houston between the New England Patriots and Atlanta Falcons. One big decision already has been made by the Falcons, who are the designated home team. They will wear red uniforms, which is their home colour, even though a team wearing white has won 11 of the past 12 Super Bowls.

Sports Interaction’s Super Bowl Prop Bets
Sports Interaction’s Super Bowl Player Props

Coin Toss

We can’t talk about Super Bowl props without looking at the coin toss. It continually surprises new bettors how popular this prop is. That’s largely because bettors want to get off to a winning start immediately and build that bankroll. It also doesn’t exactly take a degree in rocket science to figure out how to bet on this prop if you are new to the scene.

Heads or tails are both -120 on NFL odds and the Patriots or Falcons winning are also the same price. As the visiting team, the Patriots will call it. Tails leads 26-24 all time and has won the past three. The winner of the Super Bowl has also won the coin toss 24 times. However, the past two coin toss winners, the Panthers and Seahawks, lost the game. Presumably, the winner of the coin toss will defer to the second half, although both offenses are so good that the winning head coach might opt to take the initial kickoff. The Patriots nearly always defer but didn’t in the AFC Championship Game vs. Pittsburgh when they won the toss. The Pats and Falcons are both -120 to receive the opening kickoff on Feb. 5.

Prediction: Patriots call tails, win and defer.

Super Bowl MVP

We have been given one of the best quarterback matchups in a Super Bowl this century between four-time Super Bowl champion and two-time league MVP Tom Brady and Super Bowl rookie Matt Ryan, who is going to win this year’s league MVP Award.

Quarterbacks usually win the NFL MVP Award and they usually take home Super Bowl MVP honours as well. That’s just the way the modern-day NFL works. Thus because the Patriots are 3-point favourites on NFL odds, Brady is the -120 leader on this prop with Ryan next at +190. Brady is a three-time Super Bowl MVP, tying his idol growing up near San Francisco, 49res Hall of Famer Joe Montana. Of course Brady, Montana and Terry Bradshaw are the only QBs with four Super Bowl rings. A quarterback has won the Super Bowl MVP Award 27 times and five of seven this decade.

Two of the past three Super Bowls, a linebacker was named MVP: Denver’s Von Miller last year and Seattle’s Malcolm Smith three seasons ago. The defender with the shortest odds for Super Bowl LI is Falcons linebacker Vic Beasley at +3300. He led the NFL with 15.5 sacks in the regular season.

No offensive lineman, tight end or kicker has ever won Super Bowl MVP honors. Both kickers in this game, the Patriots’ Stephen Gostkowski and Falcons’ Matt Bryant, are +25000. Only once has the Super Bowl MVP come from the losing team so make sure you get on the winning side when making this pick.

Prediction: Ryan.

First Touchdown Scorer For Each Team

I think it’s fair to say neither offense is going to be held out of the end zone. That there’s no TD scored is +15200. The favourite to be the first scorer overall is Falcons receiver Julio Jones at +705 off his huge outing against Green Bay in the NFC title game. Yet Jones isn’t the leader to be the first TD scorer only for Atlanta. He’s +350, just behind running back Devonta Freeman (+340). He had 13 total TDs during the regular season (11 rushing, two receiving) and has scored one in each playoff game.

The favoured Patriot to be the first TD scorer overall is running back LeGarrette Blount at +800 and he’s +350 to be the first TD scorer just for New England. Blount was second in the NFL with 18 touchdowns during the regular season and has one in these playoffs.
A defensive or special teams TD being the first score by either team is +1400. That the game’s first TD is receiving is -175, rushing +175 or defensive/special teams at +750.

The Picks: Blount for game’s and Patriots’ first TD (rushing) and Mohamed Sanu (+1600) for the Falcons’ first TD.