Super Bowl King of Props: Poised in the pocket

As the premier betting event in all of sports, the Super Bowl has been attracting gamblers to Las Vegas for more than a half-century. But this 58th edition holds special significance because the city is hosting the game for the first time.

Click here for all of the King of Props' Super Bowl LVIII props.

Home to the “Black Hole” when the Raiders are playing, Allegiant Stadium will be awash in the other color on the roulette wheel for this championship rematch between Kansas City and San Francisco. The 2020 meeting featured the Chiefs overcoming a 10-point fourth-quarter deficit to earn a 31-20 victory. Having now claimed a fourth AFC crown in the last five years, they’re looking to take down the 49ers again — but this time as slight underdogs.

The King of Props has likewise been enjoying a run of success, winning both bets on the conference title games and five of his last six overall. In the run-up to the Super Bowl, he provides his favorite investment opportunities right here on Yardbarker.

Bet No. 2: Under 5½ total sacks by both teams (ESPN)

Although there’s some juice associated with the under, this prop offers more than enough value to justify swallowing it. The number here seems a product of recency bias, as Kansas City and Baltimore just combined for six sacks in the AFC Championship.

However, none of the other playoff games involving these teams saw more than four sacks. Patrick Mahomes was taken down twice by the Ravens, but the Chiefs kept him clean in both the wild-card and divisional rounds. Meanwhile, Brock Purdy has competed in only two postseason contests because the 49ers earned a bye, and he was sacked a total of three times.

According to Pro Football Focus, Mahomes and Purdy respectively rank second and third across the entire league for the lowest percentage of quarterback pressures that result in sacks. The latter will surely be blitzed in his first Super Bowl appearance, but he has shown impressive scrambling ability. The Chiefs also figure to have a diminished pass rush without third-leading sacker Charles Omenihu, who suffered a torn ACL last week.

Considering that each defense has already had a zero-sack game in this postseason, it’s reasonable to think that these mobile quarterbacks can keep the negative-yardage plays to a minimum.

Click here for all of the King of Props' Super Bowl LVIII props.