SBLI: Patriots favored over Falcons
Following their victory in the AFC title game, the Patriots have opened as small favorites over the Falcons in Super Bowl LI.
The Patriots opened as 3-point favorites over the Falcons at William Hill sports book in Las Vegas. The over/under has also been set at 55, which is rather high for a Super Bowl.
New England advanced to Houston with an impressive 36-17 victory over the Pittsburgh Steelers in the AFC Championship Game. Tom Brady was highly efficent in the victory, completing 32-of-42 attempts for 384 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions.
The Patriots also benefited from Le’Veon Bell suffering an injury early in the game, although the Steelers had no answer for Brady so who knows how much closer the game would have been had Bell stayed in. The Patriots covered easily as a 6-point home favorite.
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Meanwhile, the Falcons cruised to a 44-21 victory over the Packers in the NFC Championship Game, also covering easily as a 6-point home favorite. The game wasn’t even as close as the final score would indicate, as Atlanta led 24-0 at halftime and 31-0 early in the third quarter. The over also cashed late, even though the number was set at a whopping 60 points.
Matt Ryan completed 27-of-38 passes for 392 yards with four touchdowns and no interceptions. He was incredible, but equally as impressive was Atlanta’s defense, which held Aaron Rodgers to 27-of-45 passes for 287 yards with three touchdowns and an interceptions. The final numbers were decent, but Rodgers was harrassed the entire game. A missed field goal early, as well as a fumble inside the 5-yard line killed any momentum Green Bay had early. Then again, they had no answer for Ryan, so it hardly mattered in the end.
Super Bowl LI will take place Sunday, Feburary 5 at 5:30PM on FOX. The game will be held at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas.