Early Super Bowl 52 Preview
New England Patriots 5.5 Point Favorites
By now, the Philadelphia Eagles are reveling the “no respect” underdog title, as it’s become a motivational tool for success. Quarterback Nick Foles had his best performance yet since taking over for Carson Wentz in the biggest game the Eagles have played at home since 2004.
Homefield advantage usually dominates in the NFL Playoffs, but three teams did play spoiler throughout the wildcard (Titans, Falcons) and divisional rounds (Jaguars). That wasn’t the case for the Championship matchups, as the Patriots took care of business at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars despite an impressive performance and Eagles blew the doors off the Minnesota Vikings.
The Eagles were three-point underdogs despite being the number one seed in the NFC and hosting the game on Sunday. You have to assume that Nick Foles starting over Carson Wentz was the major reason why sportsbooks were not going to give the home team the edge. However, despite winning 38-7 in a convincing fashion, and Foles ending the night with 352 yards passing, 3 touchdowns and a QB rating of 141.4, Vegas still feels the line should be heavily favorited to New England for Super Bowl 52.
The Patriots are no stranger to the Super Bowl, and rightfully deserve to be favorites in U.S. Bank Stadium, Minnesota for Super Bowl LII. That being said, I would argue the line is again insulting to the Eagles and will be used to hype them up to play spoiler.
Super Bowl Betting History
| SB | Final Score | Spread (Total) | Betting Results |
| LI | New England 34, Atlanta 28 | NE -3 (57.5) | Favorite (OVER) |
| L | Denver 24, Carolina 10 | Car -4.5 (43) | Underdog (UNDER) |
| XLIX | New England 28, Seattle 24 | Sea -1 (47.5) | Underdog (OVER) |
| XLVIII | Seattle 43, Denver 8 | Den -2 (47.5) | Underdog (OVER) |
| XLVII | Baltimore 34, San Francisco 31 | SF -4.5 (48) | Underdog (OVER) |
| XLVI | N.Y. Giants 21, New England 17 | NE -2.5 (53) | Underdog (UNDER) |
| XLV | Green Bay 31, Pittsburgh 25 | GB -3 (45) | Favorite (OVER) |
| XLIV | New Orleans 31, Indianapolis 17 | IND -5 (57) | Underdog (UNDER) |
| XLIII | Pittsburgh 27, Arizona 23 | PIT -7 (46) | Underdog (OVER) |
| XLII | N.Y. Giants 17, New England 14 | NE -12 (55) | Underdog (UNDER) |
| XLI | Indianapolis 29, Chicago 17 | IND -7 (47) | Favorite (UNDER) |
| XL | Pittsburgh 21, Seattle 10 | PIT -4 (47) | Favorite (UNDER) |
| XXIX | New England 24, Philadelphia 21 | NE -7 (46.5) | Underdog (UNDER) |
Rob Gronkowski left the AFC Championship game with a concussion on a helmet-to-helmet hit from Jaguars SS Barry Church late in the first half. The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe reports the Patriots are “optimistic” Gronk will be cleared for the Super Bowl. Gronkowski’s health will be one of the major storylines over the next two weeks, but if he clears concussion protocol, the line for that game could actually go up. Currently, the Patriots are 5.5 point favorites over the Eagles for Super Bowl LII.
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