In the opening line for Super Bowl 51, the New England Patriots are favored slightly over the Atlanta Falcons.
Following an emphatic victory in the 2017 AFC Championship Game, the New England Patriots punched their ticket to Super Bowl 51. Having won earlier on Championship Sunday, the Atlanta Falcons await them in the Big Game from NRG Stadium in Houston Texans. Given what both teams have shown this season, there should be fireworks in the land where everything is bigger.
Both the Falcons and Patriots have boasted one of the best offenses in the league this season. Tom Brady was suspended for the first four games of the regular season (thanks, Deflategate), but came back with a vengeance. Meanwhile, Matt Ryan is the clubhouse leader for MVP and looked the part as they squashed the Green Bay Packers in the NFC title game.
Now all roads have led to Houston in what should be a fantastic matchup. Given the quality of each team, though, it’s hard to say who has the edge coming into the matchup. Yet, that’s the job of oddsmakers, so they’ve already set their opening line for Super Bowl 51.
As of right now, the sportsbooks believe that the Brady redemption tour will continue to Houston as the Patriots opened as three-point favorites over the Falcons:
#Patriots open in Vegas as 3-point favorites over #Falcons in #SuperBowlLI
— Vic Tafur (@VicTafur) January 23, 2017
Obviously this line could move either way depending on which way the betting public pushes it. After the way the Patriots dismantled the Pittsburgh Steelers and given their popularity, I would not be surprised to see New England wind up being favored by more.
Next: Steelers vs Patriots: AFC Championship Recap, Highlights
With that said, this should indeed be a tight one in Houston. Though the Patriots have experience and Tom Brady, the Falcons offense was historically good this season. Moreover, their defense played their best in the biggest game of the year to date on Sunday. Subsequently, fans should all be in for a treat come Sunday, Feb. 5.