The New England Patriots have played in seven Super Bowls and have covered the spread only once. So bettors are digging deep as they take on the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX on Feb. 1 at University of Phoenix Stadium.
Seahawks vs. Patriots, Super Bowl 49: Betting odds, spread, analysis and pick
Tom Brady and the New England Patriots take on the vaunted defense of the Seattle Seahawks in Super Bowl XLIX, where underdogs have dominated the spread in recent years.
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The Pats are 1-5-1 ATS and 3-4 SU in the franchise’s Super Bowl appearances. After opening as modest underdogs Sunday night at most online sportsbooks, one (Bovada) had seen enough betting to swing the point spread to -1 for New England.
The OddsShark prediction computer, perfect last week, is siding with them in the matchup.
OddsShark Computer Prediction: New England 35, Seattle 34.6
Against the Baltimore Ravens in the Divisional round, New England needed to erase two separate 14-point deficits to pick up a 35-31 victory at home. None of that drama was present in the AFC Championship when the Patriots thoroughly dominated Indianapolis from start to finish.
The defense was excellent in holding Andrew Luck and the Colts to just 209 total yards and seven points, and the offense was able to pass and run the ball effectively while racking up 45 points. New England is now 5-10 ATS and 8-7 SU in its last 15 postseason games after going 1-1 ATS and 2-0 SU so far this postseason.
Russell Wilson was suffering through the worst game of his professional career Sunday when he threw his fourth interception of the day against Green Bay to apparently seal a win for the Packers.
Green Bay led the game 19-7 with just over five minutes to play. But after the defense held strong, Wilson marched the Seahawks down the field for a touchdown, and he did the same when the team recovered the ensuing onside kick. Green Bay tied the game up at 22-22 to force overtime, where Wilson made a perfect pass to Jermaine Kearse to cap a stunning 28-22 win for Seattle.
The Seahawks are 6-1 SU and 4-2-1 ATS over their last seven playoff games with five straight postseason wins.
For those looking to bet on Super Bowl Sunday’s total, it’s listed at 48.5 points at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com. The OVER is 3-0 in the last three games between these two teams, 13-3 in Seattle’s last 16 games against AFC East opponents, and 5-1 in New England’s last six games against NFC West opponents.
Plenty of deserved attention will be given to the Seahawks’ defense leading up to the Super Bowl, but New England’s defense deserves its share of hype as well. The Patriots held San Diego, Miami and the New York Jets to 14.3 points per game in three key wins down the stretch of the regular season.
They shook off a down performance against Baltimore with a brilliant one against Indianapolis. New England is just 2-5 ATS in its last seven games against teams in the NFC West.
Seattle is 10-4 SU in its last 14 games against AFC teams. The Seahawks will need to be much better at protecting the football and avoiding mistakes than they were against Green Bay to win Super Bowl XLIX, and this group likely will be.
With the best defense in the NFL and an extra week to prepare, Seattle looks poised to become the first team to win back-to-back Super Bowls since the Patriots did so in Super Bowls XXXVIII and XXXIX.
