Super Bowl LI: Falcons vs Patriots - Game Preview and Online Betting Odds
Published February 2, 2017 by Sol FH
The Atlanta Falcons take on the New England Patriots in Super Bowl LI on Sunday Night at 23:30 GMT.
It is finally time for Super Bowl LI and for the Atlanta Falcons, they hope it will be the first time that they will hoist the Vince Lombardi trophy in franchise history. The only problem is that they face a truly magnificent New England Patriots team that are favorites to win on Sunday Night in Houston. The Patriots won Super Bowl XXXVIII at the same venue and are veterans to the NFL's biggest stage. This will be the Falcons' second time to the final and hope that their explosive offense will bring the trophy back to Atlanta.
Tale of the Tape
The Falcons were the highest scoring offense in the NFL this year with 33.8 points per game. Matt Ryan was named offensive player of the year and is expected to win the NFL's MVP award, which is handed out on Saturday Night. Ryan has been incredible this season and has been the most crucial player in the Falcons' run to the Super Bowl.
The Falcons were better than the Patriots in virtually all offensive categories. Atlanta had the second placed offense with 4,735 passing yards and 38 touchdown's this year, while the Patriots were in fourth place with 4,308 through the air and 32 TD's. On-the-ground, the Patriots were just behind the Falcons at 1,872 to 1,928 respectively. The biggest scorers for the Falcons were Devonta Freeman with 11 TD's on 1,079 rushing yards, but LeGarrette Blount beat him out with 18 TD's on 1,161 rushing yards. Julio Jones for the Falcons caught 6 TD passes on 1,409 yards through the air, which was better than Julian Edelman with 3 TD's on 1,106 yards.
Defensively, this is another story as the Patriots dominate the Falcons. In the "points allowed" category, the Patriots were ranked first in the NFL, while the Falcons come in at 27th. Although, players like LB Vic Beasley for Atlanta crushed his opponents' QB's with 15.5 sacks. The only player close to that for the Patriots was DL Trey Flowers with 7 sacks.
Injury Report
Tom Brady is healthy, and is arguably the best Super Bowl QB in the history of the game. One major piece of his puzzle, and his most favored target, Rob Gronkowski is out with an injury, leaving a huge hole at Tight End for the Pats. Other players that have suffered injuries, but have vowed to play in the game are WR Danny Amendola (ankle), TE Martellus Bennett (knee), RB Brandon Bolden (knee), LB Dont’a Hightower (shoulder), WR Chris Hogan (thigh), WR Malcolm Mitchell (knee) and DE Jabaal Sheard (knee).
For the Falcons, there are not too many injuries to report aside from WR Julio Jones (toe) and C Alex Mack (fibula), but both are expected to play and would not miss the game unless absolutely having to.
Prediction
Where to begin with this one. First things first, the Patriots are favorites to win this game, but something says that the Falcons could spoil their party. Bettors have hundreds of betting markets at the main online sportsbooks like bet365 Sports, William Hill, 888 Sport and 10bet, but outright, the game will be close but something about an Atlanta win just seems right.
Betting Markets
The biggest and best online sportsbooks in the industry give this game to the Patriots. At bet365 Sports, the Patriots are favorites at 1.66, while the Falcons are at 2.30. At William Hill those odds are 1.67 to 2.30. 888 Sport and 10bet have also followed suit, with 888 posting 1.66 to 2.33, while 10bet offers 1.64 to 2.25 respectively. There are upwards of 290 individual betting markets at these sportsbooks and plenty of chances for punters to make lucrative cash both pre-game and throughout all four quarters will live in play markets. Pre-game, bettors will find a ton of player props, score props, team props and much more. Throughout the game it is all about the live in play markets, which are incredibly attractive for any bettor that wants an interactive Super Bowl betting experience.
This will be one of the most action-packed Super Bowls of all time. Few teams have been as evenly matched as the Patriots and the Falcons are and this will surely be a treat.
