Congratulations to the newly crowned NFL champions, the New Orleans Saints. It’s the Saints’ first championship in 42 years of existence, defying the odds and drowning Indianapolis 31-17. Here are the betting results.
Pointspread: Saints +5
New Orleans was a six-point puppy on the NFL lines at the open of the line and it stayed that way for almost the entire two weeks leading up to the game. However, the line did come down to five the afternoon of the contest. The Saints made that moot by scoring a pair of touchdowns in the fourth quarter.
Moneyline: Saints +160
Indianapolis was the public’s choice against the spread by almost a 2:1 margin. Those folks that chose the money line bet were nearly 70 percent on the Saints. That’s understandable since the Colts were somewhat chalky at –180 and the Saints were a very, very good team this year.
Total: UNDER 57.5
Some of the sharps who got burned on the Colts will be able to take solace in the final score. The betting public was again about 2:1 on the ‘over,’ pushing the total up from 56.5 points at the open – already the highest total in Super Bowl history. The Colts helped keep the score down in the first half with excellent running and some solid defense.
Super Bowl XLIV MVP: Drew Brees (2-1)
The MVP award more often than not goes to the quarterback, and Brees earned the honor this year by throwing two TD passes without an interception. Colts QB Peyton Manning, the MVP of Super Bowl XLI, was the overwhelming favorite at 10-17.
Total Passing Yards – Drew Brees: UNDER 300.5
This was another opportunity for sharps to put one over on the offense-happy betting public. Even with an outstanding 32-of-39 performance, Brees only racked up 288 yards passing, his sixth consecutive sub-300 contest. The ‘under’ paid off handsomely at +130.
Total Passing Yards – Peyton Manning: OVER 300.5
Not including the last two weeks of the regular season, Manning amassed over 300 passing yards in 10 of his 15 games before the Super Bowl. Then he did it again with 333 yards on 31-of-45 passing. The 300-yard mark is rather arbitrary as a total; the ‘over’ was a juicy –165 to compensate.
Team to score first in the game: Colts (–130)
Indianapolis broke the ice when Matt Stover booted a 38-yard field goal in the first quarter. The Saints (EVEN) had the opening drive of the game, but went three-and-out.
First score of the game will be: Field Goal or Safety (+140)
Betting on the touchdown for this prop came at a hefty price of –170. Neither team was able to reach the red zone during its opening drive of the contest.
Will there be a score in the last 3:30 of the game? YES (–200)
New Orleans CB Tracy Porter salted the game away with a 74-yard interception return with 3:12 left on the clock. It was the only turnover Super Bowl XLIV.
How long will it take Carrie Underwood to sing the National Anthem? OVER 1:42
The American Idol winner took about 1:47 to complete The Star-Spangled Banner (the first stanza, at least) from first to last note.
Will a member of The Who smash a guitar on stage during the halftime show? NO (+115)
This was almost a gimme for music fans. According to the WhoTabs website, Pete Townshend hasn’t smashed a guitar on stage since 2004, and has only done so six times in the past 20 years.
What color will the Gatorade be that is dumped on the head coach of the winning Super Bowl team? YELLOW (21-20)
Saints coach Sean Payton took the emblematic Gatorade shower in the classic yellow, making it two years in a row for the original flavor after three years of clear liquid (2-1).
What will be the result of the Super Bowl XLIV coin toss? Heads (–105)
They say in football that tails never fails, but in reality, tails only held a 22-21 advantage going into Sunday’s contest. By the way, the Saints (–107) won the toss to make it 13 in a row for the NFC.
