Panthers favored over Broncos in early Super Bowl 50 betting line
DENVER — The Denver Broncos will come into Super Bowl 50 as a feel-good story, and also as an underdog to a Carolina Panthers team that has a cool story as well.
Even before the Panthers put the finishing touches on their NFC championship, the Westgate sports book in Las Vegas made the Panthers a 5.5-point favorite and it quickly moved down to 4, according to Lance Pugmire of the Los Angeles Times.
VegasInsider.com tweeted that the early line is between Panthers favored by 4 and Panthers favored by 3.5, depending on the sports book, and the over/under is 45.5 or 46 points. That line is probably inflated a bit — last week, a few outlets said that the probable line if the Panthers and Broncos advanced would be Carolina by 3 points — based on how good the Panthers looked on Sunday.
The Broncos barely got by the New England Patriots in the AFC championship game, winning 20-18 when the Patriots failed on a two-point conversion with 12 seconds left. The Panthers followed that up by crushing the Arizona Cardinals 49-15 in the NFC championship game. The Panthers, who went 15-1 in the regular season, were very impressive opening up a big first-half lead against the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round and blew out the Cardinals, so it’s no surprise they are favored.
The Broncos’ story will center on quarterback Peyton Manning, who might be playing his final game on Feb. 7 in the Super Bowl. On the football side of it, the Broncos’ top-ranked defense is the bigger deal. Denver gave Patriots quarterback Tom Brady fits for much of Sunday’s game. They’ll have a totally different challenge in the Super Bowl trying to contain Panthers quarterback Cam Newton, who is the favorite to win the NFL’s MVP award.
The Panthers are going for their first Super Bowl title. Their only other Super Bowl appearance was against the Patriots in Super Bowl XXXVIII, and they were 7-point underdogs according to Vegas Insider’s history. The other time the Broncos made the Super Bowl with Manning was two years ago against the Seattle Seahawks, and they lost 43-8 after being a 2.5-point underdog.
Not counting last year’s Super Bowl, which ended up as a pick ’em according to Vegas Insider’s history, underdogs have won the last three and four of the last five Super Bowls straight up. Underdogs have won six of the last seven Super Bowls, again not counting last year’s pick ’em. Green Bay over Pittsburgh in Super Bowl XLV is the only recent favorite to win and cover.
The Panthers will try to break that streak. Carolina wasn’t a popular pick to make the Super Bowl this season, after it went 7-8-1 last season and won the NFC South. This offseason the Panthers were listed at 60-to-1 or more to win it all. Now, Carolina is favored to win its first Super Bowl.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
