Super Bowl bets: Two player prop specials worth grabbing
As the Super Bowl nears closer, more and more betting options are made available on sportsbooks. Admittedly, the sheer quantity of these special markets opening can be a bit overwhelming. It's easy to get lost looking through all the offerings, but every so often, you stumble on a market that catches the eye.
I was perusing FanDuel and found a 'Player Matchups' tab for this game. If this has been offered throughout the season, then I've simply missed it. There are various options in markets such as passing yards, rushing yards, etc. that pits two players against each other.
It's structured like a game would be. You can bet on the spread for two players, i.e. Patrick Mahomes is a 15.5-yard favorite in the passing yards category over Brock Purdy, meaning that you could back Mahomes to throw for 16+ more yards than Purdy if you so please.
Not only are they matchup based, but you can also bet on the cumulative total for that prop and the players listed. It's here I want to dig in, because I've found two spots that I love.
I'm putting 1u on each look, as they're combining a few players I've been thinking over for the past week and a half.
Christian McCaffrey & Brock Purdy over 107.5 combined rushing yards (-110 FanDuel)
It's extremely difficult for me to see a world where San Francisco does not pound Christian McCaffrey early and often against this Kansas City defense. McCaffrey is easily the team's best offensive weapon, and stopping the run is the clear weakness on the Chiefs' end.
Kansas City allowed the seventh-most yards per rush this season and has allowed 113 rushing yards per game in their three playoff games.
McCaffrey could easily top this line on his own, but I like adding Purdy's legs here. Purdy has shown a proclivity to scramble a bit more in the playoffs, with 11 total rush attempts and 62 yards. With a player like Chris Jones disrupting the interior of the line, it's easy to see scenarios where Purdy is pushed out of the pocket.
In the Niners first playoff game, these two combined for 112 rushing yards, and in the NFC Championship, they finished with 138 cumulative yards. Loving this spot on the San Francisco end.
Travis Kelce & Rashee Rice over 13.5 combined receptions (-115 FD)
Travis Kelce or Rashee Rice? It's been these two I've been noodling over for about 10 days when I consider which Chiefs pass-catcher I prefer.
Last week, I sprinkled on Rice to lead the game in receptions at +195, a read I stand by. This market, however, opens the door for a more collaborative game from Mahomes's top options.
Both Kelce and Rice have reception lines floating between 6.5 and 7.5, with no other player coming close in the market, and I've been considering some type of parlay that combines the two's catches. This seems just like the path for me.
My love for Rice is simple: San Francisco has allowed the fifth-most receptions/game to WRs this season, and Amon-Ra St. Brown just caught seven balls against this defense.
The draw to Kelce is similarly simple: Sam LaPorta just hauled in nine passes against the 49ers, and Kelce has averaged 8.2 receptions/game over his past five postseasons.
In this year's wild-card round, Kelce and Rice combined for 15 catches. They finished with only nine against the Bills, but followed that up with 19 receptions in the AFC Championship. Here's to 14 or more on Sunday.
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