Super Bowl XLVII is taking place in less than a week in New Orleans. The Baltimore Ravens and San Francisco 49ers have each battled their way into this game and will now fight it out in the biggest sports game in North America. The Super Bowl is the most wagered on single day sporting event each year and it is estimated that the game will have 111 Million average viewers (at least that’s the over/under at Bovada.lv).
Game Lines
Here are the main betting lines for this game from Bovada.lv:
Baltimore Ravens +4 (-115)
San Francisco 49ers -4 (-105)
Baltimore Ravens +145
San Francisco 49ers -165
Over/Under 47.5
The 49ers have earned the favorite tag in this game after a stellar 11-4-1 season that included switching from Alex Smith to Colin Kaepernick at quarterback when Smith was injured, even though Smith was having a career year. The 49ers then went on to easily handle the Green Bay Packers in the Divisional Playoff game and pulled off a remarkable come from behind win in Atlanta (allowing 0 2nd half points) to book their spot in the Super Bowl.
The Ravens had an even tougher time after losing 4 of their last 5 games in the regular season to finish 10-6. They had to play in a Wild Card game, but easily defeated the Colts by a score of 24-9, led by Ray Lewis in his return to the team for their playoff run. It looked like the Ravens run was over in the Divisional game against the Broncos as they were down by a touchdown with just 30 seconds left, but a miraculous 70 yard TD pass into blown coverage got the game into OT and the defense held firm in overtime allowing Tucker to kick a 47 yard field goal for the win in the 2nd overtime period. Still nobody gave the Ravens a chance against the Pats as they were 9 point dogs, but they simply demolished Tom Brady and company winning 28-13 in New England.
Line Movement
The line started out with the 49ers as 5 point favorites, but as shown above this has since changed to 4 point favorites and 3.5 at many sportsbooks. 57% of the public is currently on the Ravens to beat the spread, but this should get down to about 50/50 by game time because with such a widely bet on game the market efficiency should be very solid.
I expect the line to remain around 4 points when game time hits this Sunday, which could make for a very interesting dynamic in the game. I would not be at all surprised if the game is decided by a field goal, which would result in Ravens spread bets paying out.
What I do know is the biggest game of the year is taking place this Sunday, so head over to Bovada.lv now to place your bets.
