Super Bowl LII Betting 2018 – Winner Odds & Prediction

Eagles can cover tight spread in Minnesota

Brady, New England Patriots - © GEPA pictures
Brady, New England Patriots - © GEPA pictures

It is the first Sunday of February coming up on the 4th and that means that it is Super Bowl time, the conclusion to the NFL 2017/18 season. This is Super Bowl LII (52) and it is being held at the US Bank Stadium, Minneapolis, Minnesota and it is the New England Patriots who are going into the fixture as 1/2 favourites at Bet365(betting odds taken January 30th at 6:16 p.m.) who will be looking to land a successful title defence having beaten out the Atlanta Falcons twelve months ago in one of the greatest Super Bowls in history.

This time around they get a challenge from the Philadelphia Eagles which sets up a rematch of the 2005 Super Bowl which New England won 24-21. This will be just the third appearance in the Super Bowl for the Eagles, who failed on their two previous attempts to capture the biggest prize in the sport (at Super Bowl XV and XXXIX). Can the underdogs have their day? The Patriots are the designated home team, which means they get choice of jersey and they are wearing white.

Super Bowl 2018 Infographic

Reigning Champion

The Pats are the reigning champions having mounted an epic comeback in last year’s Super Bowl against the Atlanta Falcons. New England were trailing by 25 points in the third quarter but miraculously Tom Brady managed to find a way to haul the Pats back into action and they scored 19 unanswered points in the final quarter to take the game to overtime. The Patriots won the toss, received the ball in overtime and powered their way down the field to finish off with a 2-yard touchdown by James White.

It was a stunning fixture because of that fightback and during the game, 30 team and individual Super Bowl records were broken because of it. Pats quarterback Brady broke three records himself as he went on to collect the Super Bowl MVP award for the fourth time in his career as well. He is unquestionably, the greatest in the game.

Super Bowl LII Odds*

New England Patriots 1/2, Philadelphia Eagles 17/10

Super Bowl LII Points Spread Odds*

New England Patriots -4.5 20/21, Philadelphia Eagles +4.5 20/23

New England Patriots

The Pats are the elite in the game and the dynasty that head coach Bill Belichick and superstar quarterback Tom Brady have created is second to none. They went into the season as the favourites to go all the way again and they finished the regular season with a 13-3 record. They were the AFC number one side after a tie-breaking procedure but they weren’t without their issues through the campaign. They were a bit shaky defensively and it took a while for them to get going added some free-agent signings to bolster their ranks.

They were only ranked 29th in yards allowed defensively, but they were fifth when it came to points given up over the course of the season. Frankly when it came to their back up defence, after looking so poor early on the season, when they were only 2-2 after four matches, to come out at the back end of the season with such a strong secondary, was highly impressive.

In the postseason, the Pats got a first round bye and then took out the Tennessee Titans easily enough as Brady was in ripe form guiding New England to a 35-14 success. Then it was a tough duel against the Jacksonville Jaguars for them in the AFC Championship game. The Pats found themselves down 20-10 in the fourth quarter but once again, the team rested on the shoulders of Brady, who delivered a stunning comeback through late touchdown passes to Danny Amendola.

Philadelphia Eagles

The Eagles posted a 13-3 record matching that of New England through the regular season (two other teams, Minnesota Vikings and the Pittsburgh Steelers also matched), but through tie-breaking procedures, the Eagles got the NFC Number One status for the postseason. This season was a huge step forward for the Eagles who had posted a 7-9 record in each of their previous two seasons. The key offensive link for the Eagles this season was quarterback Carson Wentz and tight end Zach Ertz. They added extra firepower through free agency signings of Alshon Jeffery and Torrey Smith to give Wentz extra targets to hit.

Defensively they ranked fourth in the NFL for fewest yards allowed, a huge contrast to that of the New England Patriots in that stat. They were solid in the secondary as well, with plenty of depth and they are going to need that to be firing on all cylinders right from the off in Minnesota on the weekend. After going 10-2 across their opening twelve matches of the season, the Eagles were dealt a major blow when Wentz suffered a season-ending injury which meant that the experienced Nick Foles had to take up the reins for the rest of the season. It’s a testament to him and the team that they managed to get all the way to the Super Bowl and he didn’t throw an intercepted pass throughout the entire play offs.

In the postseason the Eagles took down last year’s losing Super Bowl finalists the Atlanta Falcons in a tight game, their defence really stepping it up when the Falcons were heaping pressure on them. The Eagles squeezed through 15-10 to go and face the Minnesota Vikings in the NFC Championship game. With the Vikings looking to become the first ever side to play at Super Bowl at home, it was a brilliant performance from the Eagles which won the day 38-7, again their defence going strong through the match.

Philadelphia will be lining up with two players who were on the Patriot’s winning roster from last season, Chris Long and LeGarrette Blount, the latter having had a huge impact for Philadelphia this season.

Super Bowl XXXIX Rematch

Back in the 2005 Super Bowl when the two of them met, it was a tight contest right down the line, with the Patriots just coming through in the match in Jacksonville, Florida by winning the final quarter 10-7 after going into the last period at 14-14. From that match up, it is only Tom Brady who remains on either team. Patriots coach Bill Belichick was the head coach back then.

Super Bowl LII Prediction

It is likely to be a very cold day in Minnesota on Sunday. Throughout the play offs this season underdogs have gone 9-1 against the spread, with only New England the only favourite to cover in beating the Tennessee Titans in the divisional round. The Eagles were underdogs against both Atlanta and Minnesota in the play offs, and there is no scenario that the Pats were ever going to be an underdog in a game during the postseason.

They aren’t for the Super Bowl although this could well be a tight battle on the day. The Eagles at 4.5 points on the spread for 20/20 at Bet365* (betting odds taken January 30th at 6:16 p.m.) has some appeal. In New England’s last four Super Bowl victories, they have won by three points twice, four points once and then last year’s six points margin (which was lucky). The Eagles have a very good defence and will be in this all the way most likely. While ultimately they may come up short in terms of winning the game, they can cover a tight spread.