Super Bowl 2017 Betting Props: Quarterbacks Brady, Ryan in the Spotlight

Whether the highest Super Bowl total ever posted at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark ends up going over or under will ultimately depend on how the two quarterbacks perform in the big game on Sunday.

Tom Brady of the New England Patriots has been here six times before, while Matt Ryan of the Atlanta Falcons will be playing for his first NFL title when their teams battle in Super Bowl 51 at Houston's NRG Stadium.

Bettors and oddsmakers alike may expect a high-scoring game, considering both the Patriots and Falcons have averaged over 30 points since Brady returned from his four-game suspension to start the season.

But New England has scored more than 28 points only once in eight previous Super Bowl appearances, and Atlanta faces the daunting challenge of trying to score three touchdowns or more against the NFL’s top scoring defense that limited opponents to just 15.6 points per game during the regular season.

With regard to Super Bowl props involving the signal-callers, Brady is favored to throw over 2.5 touchdown passes at -130 (bet $130 to win $100), while Ryan is listed as a pick'em (-115 over and under) to total that same amount.

Brady threw four touchdown passes in his team's last Super Bowl appearance, a 28-24 victory against the Seattle Seahawks two years ago en route to winning MVP honors for the third time.

Ryan is expected to be named NFL MVP for the first time in his career Saturday, and no player who has won the regular-season award has also taken the Super Bowl award in the same season since Kurt Warner of the St. Louis Rams did it 17 years ago.

The key is winning the big game, something Brady did not do either of the two times he was NFL MVP. Ryan is the +200 second choice on the Super Bowl MVP odds behind Brady (+120).

With other Super Bowl 51 props, Ryan has a higher over/under number for passing yards (310.5) than Brady (305.5), but their over/under for completions (25.5) is the same.

Brady set the Super Bowl record with 37 against Seattle in 2015, and Ryan may need to break that mark if his Falcons are going to win the Vince Lombardi Trophy on Sunday.