Super Bowl Odds: Patriots Slim Favorites Over Falcons In Expected Shootout

The New England Patriots will be making a record ninth Super Bowl appearance next week, holding a narrow edge over the high-powered Atlanta Falcons at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com as early three-point betting favorites with a giant 58.5-point total.

New England punched its Super Bowl ticket with a ninth consecutive straight-up win by pounding the Pittsburgh Steelers 36-17 as six-point home favorites in Sunday’s AFC Championship Game. The Patriots also have covered in seven straight contests ahead of next week’s Patriots vs. Falcons Super Bowl LI matchup at NRG Stadium in Houston.

The Patriots continued their stifling defensive play in their victory over Pittsburgh, holding the Steelers to 367 total yards while forcing a pair of turnovers, and have allowed just 10.6 points per game over their past five wins while claiming victory by an average margin of 21.8 points.

But New England has failed to produce in recent postseason games as narrow betting chalk.

The Patriots are winless SU and against the spread in four straight games when favored by four or fewer points during the playoffs, with their most recent loss coming in last year’s AFC Championship Game when they fell 20-18 to the Denver Broncos as three-point favorites. They averaged just 16.3 points per game during that stretch.

New England likely will have to maintain its scoring touch against the Falcons, who topped the 40-point mark for the third time in six weeks with a 44-21 thrashing of the Green Bay Packers as 6.5-point favorites Sunday.

The combined 65 points in the NFC Championship Game easily eclipsed the 59.5-point mark for an eighth straight win for the over in totals betting in Falcons games, with the total reaching 50 or more points on seven occasions.

The Falcons also have been a solid bet when pegged as betting underdogs, covering in seven of their past eight such outings, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.

Atlanta claimed outright victories on six occasions during that run but has fallen short in its past two, most recently falling 24-15 to the Philadelphia Eagles as a one-point road underdog in a Week 10 matchup that marked its lowest offensive output of the season.

Points also have been scarce during the Falcons’ current four-game SU and ATS losing streak against New England, with Atlanta mustering just 10 points in two of those defeats.

Thumbnail photo via James Lang/USA TODAY Sports Images