This is enough to make even Joe Cool piping hot.
Immediately after last weekend’s NFL playoff games, Joe Burrow was at +850 to win Super Bowl MVP honors. That was the worst odds of the four winning quarterbacks, even 49ers rookie Brock Purdy.
Refresh my memory but didn’t the Cincinnati QB just finish a regular season in which he completed 414-of-606 passes for 4,475 yards with 35 touchdowns and 12 picks? Didn’t he lead the Bengals to last season’s Super Bowl while Purdy was driving through the cornfields of Iowa.
Yet Purdy was at +800.
“I’m tired of the underdog narrative,” Burrow said last season on the team’s breathtaking run to the Super Bowl. We’re a really, really good team. We’re here to make some noise.”
A year later it seems as if no one in Vegas is hearing the “Who Dey” chants emanating from the Queen City or the popping of the physic.
The Bengals were underdogs going into last week’s game against the Bills in Buffalo, giving 5.5 points. They just looked the Bills Mafia in the eye and dusted them 27-10.
What did that get Cincinnati? They were installed as one-point underdogs against the Chiefs, despite the fact that the last time we saw Kansas City QB Patrick Mahomes he was hobbling like a post-hip replacement surgery patient.
But things are looking up a bit for Burrow.
After completing 23-of-36 passes for 242 yards with two touchdowns and no interceptions, his Super Bowl MVP odds improved to +350. That’s tied with Eagles QB Jalen Hurts, who is on the mend after sustaining a late-season shoulder injury.
One hurt Hurts equals one healthy Burrow. Hey, we don’t set the odds.
Mahomes remains the favorite at +325. Purdy is at +650. That’s the best odds EVER for a Mr. Irrelevant.
Hurts’ Eagles are 2.5-point favorites to beat Purdy’s 49ers in Philadelphia. This is a matchup of a rookie QB – Purdy – who began the season third on the depth chart against a third year QB – Hurts – who many Philly fans didn’t want back for a third season.
So, what’s a wagerer to do? In the last 10 Super Bowls, quarterbacks have won MVP six times. Heck, Joe Flacco and Nick Foles won MVP, which emphasizes how much of an edge QBs have.
Two wide receivers – Cooper Kupp last season and Julian Edelman – have won it. And two linebackers – Seattle’s Malcolm Smith and Denver’s Von Miller – have won it
The trick is to find a player who’s a bigger longshot to win, setting you ip for a larger payout.
Christian McCaffrey, the running back who also lines up at WR is +1440 and Deebo Samuel, the wide receiver who also lines up at RB is at +2500. Nick Bosa is a +4000 if you’re looking for a defensive player.
We’ve got another thought at BetBasics.com: Tight ends.
Two of the game’s best are still in these NFL playoffs, Kansas City’s Travis Kelce and San Francisco’s George Kittle (Philadelphia’s Dallas Goedert isn’t far behind).
The Jaguars are still trying to locate Kelce who had 14 catches for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the Chiefs 27-20 win last weekend. The Cowboys are still trying to wrap their heads around the catch – now known as The Bobble in San Fran – that Kittle made in the 49ers 19-12 win.
Kelce is +2500 to win Super Bowl MVP. Kittle is +6600. If the Chiefs and 49ers win those odds will drop. But if you can’t lock in those numbers now, wait until after the conference championship games and check BetBasics.com.
Here’s what we love for this weekend. We got Kittle at +260 at PointsBet to have more than 45.5 yards receiving and one touchdown against an Eagles linebacking corps is the soft sport in a great defense. We put $20 down to win $71, which would net us $51. Cheesesteaks are on us.