Super Bowl LIV is upon us! The Kansas City Chiefs and the San Francisco 49ers face each other tonight on FOX for the 54th Super Bowl and the culmination of the NFL’s 100th season.
We have made our picks and are ready to share those with you, as well as details from Wednesday’s show with prop bets made between Cory and Eric. So let’s get to our picks.
We have made our picks and are ready to share those with you, as well as details from Wednesday’s show with prop bets made between Cory and Eric. So let’s get to our picks.
Evan Ash
The San Francisco 49ers will win Super Bowl LIV in a legendary thriller of a game. I think it will be a back and forth affair with the 49ers defense getting a critical stop in the final minute, denying Chiefs kicker and Georgia Tech alumnus Harrison Butker a chance at a game-winning field goal.
The Chiefs’ quarterback Patrick Mahomes II will certainly have a great game (similar to Tom Brady’s Super Bowl record 505 passing yards in a losing effort two years ago), but in the end the 49ers defense will be too much to overcome.
San Francisco only blitzed 20.9% (3rd lowest in the league) of the time in 2019, but they were tied for 5th in sacks with 48. The 49ers ability to consistently pressure Mahomes will lift them to their 6th Super Bowl title (and me to the championship in the Sportsballers’ points picks), tying them with the Pittsburgh Steelers and the New England Patriots for the most all time.
Final Score: San Francisco 49ers – 31, Kansas City Chiefs – 30
MVP: Jimmy Garoppolo
Eric Meyer
Kansas City got away with sluggish starts against two vastly inferior teams, but they won’t have that luxury on Sunday when they play the 49ers.
I’m expecting some tightness early because it’s the Super Bowl, so I’m going lower-scoring in this matchup.
Defense has historically won out in these situations, so I’m sticking with that trend. San Francisco wins (and covers).
Final Score: San Francisco 49ers – 24, Kansas City Chiefs – 21
MVP: Raheem Mostert
Cory Puffett
Last year I returned to using Madden to make my Super Bowl predictions, something I’d done every year from January 2001’s blowout victory by the Ravens over the Giants through the Seahawks’ blowout win against Peyton Manning’s Broncos following the 2013 regular season.
In those 14 seasons, I went 10-4 using Madden. I went 2-2 during a four-year hiatus, getting both the Patriots win against the Seahawks and the Broncos win against the Panthers wrong before picking the next two correctly.
Last year, in my return to Madden, I incorrectly picked a 24-23 victory for the Rams against the Patriots, so we’ll see how this year’s prediction turns out.
I controlled the Kansas City Chiefs in the first half and after an early 55-yard touchdown run by Tevin Coleman less than two minutes into the game, I settled down and held a 17-14 halftime lead before switching over to the 49ers.
Things got wacky in the second half as Patrick Mahomes was simply unstoppable. A 75-yard touchdown pass to Tyreek Hill and a 59-yard touchdown to Denard Robinson highlighted a ridiculous second half in which the Chiefs ran away to a 42-28 lead, added another touchdown on a 31-yard pick-6 by the Honey Badger Tyrann Mathieu, and then gave up a garbage time touchdown in a game that wasn’t an even bigger blowout than the final score indicates.
Final Score: Kansas City Chiefs – 49, San Francisco 49ers – 35
MVP: Patrick Mahomes II
Notable players from the game:
Passing
· Patrick Mahomes (27-34, 462 yards, 5 TD)
· Jimmy Garoppolo (22-28, 271 yards, 3 TD, 3 INT)
Rushing
· Tevin Coleman (15 carries, 123 yards, 1 TD)
· Damien Williams (18 carries, 65 yards)
Receiving
· Tyreek Hill (9 catches, 227 yards, 1 TD)
· Emmanuel Sanders (6 catches, 94 yards, 1 TD)
Defense
· Tyrann Mathieu (7 tackles, 2 INT, 1 TD)
· 49ers defense (6 sacks)
Prop Bets
We’ll close this article with the prop bets Cory and Eric made on Wednesday’s episode of The Sportsballers Podcast, which you can listen to
Here are our 10 prop bets in the order they came up on the show and with how much each stands to win based on the odds and the $5 per bet they are each putting up.
1. Over (+130)/under (-150) 2.5 49ers sacks
Cory took the over and will win $6.50 from Eric if the 49ers sack Patrick Mahomes at least three times.
Eric has the under and will win $3.33 from Cory in the event Mahomes is sacked two times or fewer.
2. 49ers convert a 4th down? (+120 yes, -140 no)
Cory and Eric both wanted the no on this one, but Cory had first selection of same choice, so he gets the no and stands to win $3.57 from Eric if the 49ers do not convert a fourth down conversion attempt.
If they do, Eric will win $6.00 from Cory.
3. Which head coach will be mentioned first on the broadcast after kickoff? (+115 Kyle Shanahan, -155 Andy Reid)
Once again, both Cory and Eric wanted the same person, but with “possession” flipped to Eric, he selected Kyle Shanahan and will win $5.75 from Cory if Kyle Shanahan is the first head coach mentioned by the broadcast crew after the opening kickoff.
If Andy Reid is mentioned first, Cory will win $3.23 from Eric.
4. Will there be more Ovechkin (-1 ½) shots on goal or Mahomes TDs? (Mahomes +145, Ovie -170)
With the Capitals/Penguins game in the books, we have an official number for Mahomes to reach. Alex Ovechkin had 4 shots on goal in the Capitals’ 4-3 loss on Sunday. So this is becomes an over/under 2.5 touchdowns for Patrick Mahomes.
Cory took the over on Wednesday (i.e., he took Mahomes +145). If Mahomes has at least three touchdowns tonight, Cory will win $7.25 from Eric. If he has fewer than three, Eric will win $2.94 from Cory.
5. Will there be a scoring drive shorter than the National Anthem? (+175 no, -260 yes)
Like the last one, Cory and Eric had different picks during Wednesday’s broadcast. Cory took the no mostly because of the way the odds worked out. If he is right and no scoring drive takes less time than Demi Lovato’s national anthem (we’ll have a stopwatch on that this evening, but the over/under for that has been set at 2 minutes 2.5 seconds), Cory will win $8.75 from Eric.
If Eric is right and there is a shorter scoring drive (certainly possible with two-minute drills if Lovato doesn’t speed through her rendition), Eric will win $1.92 from Cory.
6. Over/under (even odds) 102 ½ total yards on all touchdowns scored
Both co-hosts wanted the over, but Cory held “possession” here and gets the over. A high-scoring game like he predicts will certainly help, along with those long touchdown passes Mahomes had in his Madden sim.
Eric gets the under. Either way, whoever wins gets an even $5.00 from the other.
7. Will there be a score in the first 6 ½ minutes? (even odds)
Eric says yes and Cory says no. Again, with even odds the winner gets $5.00 from the loser.
8. Will there be a 2-point conversion attempt during the game (+140 yes, -160 no)
Neither Cory nor Eric believe there will be an attempt in this game, but with possession flipped to Eric, he takes the no with -160 odds and stands to win $3.13 from Cory if he is right.
Though it’s not his prediction, Cory will be more than happy to take $7.00 from Eric in the event there is a 2-point try tonight. For the record, there was one attempted and converted by the Chiefs in Cory’s Madden sim.
9. Will Patrick Mahomes throw an interception? (+110 yes, -130 no)
Again, both wanted the no but this time it was Cory’s choice. His sim had Patrick Mahomes throwing no picks, so he hopes that bodes well for tonight’s game as he stands to win $3.85 from Eric if Mahomes avoids throwing an interception to a 49ers defense that, great as it was all season, only picked off 12 passes in 2019.
Eric will win $5.50 from Cory if Richard Sherman, Jaquiski Tartt, or another member of San Francisco’s defense can bait Mahomes into a pick.
10. Who will be the target of Kansas City’s first third down pass attempt? (Kelce/the field [even odds])
Cory created this one himself and gave it even odds even though he wants Travis Kelce. If the target is anybody else, or if it is thrown away, Eric wins. $5.00 goes to the victory.
Adding up all these prop bets, a 10-0 record for Cory will net him $55.15 from Eric. If Eric wins all 10, Cory will owe him $43.57.
Cory has a big edge in potential earnings, but Eric has more expected outcomes on his slate. It will all come down to which ones each gets right.
-The Sportsballers