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NFL Betting Preview - Super Bowl XLI Facts & Figures

What the non-fan needs to know about the Super Bowl

• The Chicago Bears are playing in their first Super Bowl since shuffling to the title 21 years ago while the Indianapolis Colts have not appeared in the game since they were the Baltimore Colts back in 1971.
• The point spread on the game is Indianapolis -7 (which means Indianapolis bettors win if Indianapolis wins by more than 7 points; Chicago bettors win if Chicago wins the game or loses by less than 7 points).
• Chicago, the #1 seed from the NFC, is an underdog (it’s only happened five other times in the previous 40 Super Bowls).
• MOST COVERED STORY: Colts QB Peyton Manning is seeking his first championship in a state that has not been kind to him in the past. Manning could never beat nemesis Florida in college and finally knocked off another nemesis in the New England Patriots to advance to his first Super Bowl. Ironically, his Chicago counterpart is Rex Grossman, who starred for the Gators in college and grew up near Indianapolis.
• Grossman may go down as the most scrutinized player in Super Bowl history due to his wildly inconsistent play for the Bears this season. However, Chicago is 15-0 when he has turned the ball over less than four times (interceptions and fumbles), so the team will likely go with a conservative game plan offensively to limit his mistakes.
• Indy’s Tony Dungy and Chicago’s Lovie Smith are not only the first two African-American head coaches to reach the Super Bowl, they are also very good friends. Dungy and Smith had dinner before the Colts beat the Kansas City Chiefs in the Wild-Card round and discussed how great it would be if they met in the Super Bowl. Smith worked under Dungy in Tampa Bay before taking the defensive coordinator job in St. Louis, where he helped lead the Rams to the Super Bowl five years ago.
• No team with a scoring defense ranked worse than 8th during the regular season has ever won the Super Bowl. Indy ranked 23rd - allowing 22.5 points per game - while Chicago finished third.
• Don’t be surprised both teams struggle to score early on. No touchdowns have been scored in the first quarter of the last five Super Bowls, and just 22 points total have been scored in the last seven combined. Nerves have definitely played a huge role early on as the teams feel each other out offensively and defensively.
• The lead up to the game on CBS is very long (causal fans should avoid at all costs!)

POST-GAME:

• You never know when the big plays are going to happen, but more people are watching the game at the beginning rather than the end, so watch the first ½ hour and you’ll have specific big plays to talk about (Kick-off is slightly after 6 ET on CBS).
• Everyone likes to talk about something goofy the announcers say (Jim Nantz and Super Bowl XXI MVP Phil Simms are calling this year’s game), so listen closely for a water-cooler worthy absurdity.
• After the game, even if you don’t watch it all, check out ESPN.com and look for:

  GAME RECAP – which will give you a flavor of the flow of the game, and will single out the biggest plays.

  BOX SCORE – the stats for the game. Look for: 1) Did the winning team have the most total yards? If not, the winner was likely lucky. 2) Did one team have significantly more turnovers than the other? Another sign of luck if the winning team had less turnovers.

  Check out the “7 Keys to Super Bowl XLI” on Monday for even more water cooler worthy conversation.

• A competitive event itself. USA Today actually scores the commercials from viewer input and prominently publishes the results in Monday’s edition. A couple online sportsbooks are even offering a prop bet on who will get the most votes!

Check for best Super Bowl XLI line from trusted sportsbooks:
SportbetBetUS

Ready for more in-depth sports betting analysis? Check out our Super Bowl XLI Scouting Report.

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