Super Bowl Prop Bets: New England Patriots vs. New York Giants Odds to Consider

With Super Bowl XLVI between the New England Patriots and New York Giants expected to be a colossal event, numerous types of prop bets certainly come to mind other than just predicting the winner.

That being said, here are some more prop bets to consider before the game kicks off on Super Sunday.

Click the link to view Super Bowl odds from the National Sports Advisors.

Super Bowl MVP Odds

There's multiple ways to look at this prop bet, especially since there are a few players (at the very least) on both sides that have a legit shot to win the award.

Obviously, Tom Brady and Eli Manning come to mind, however, so do Rob Gronkowski, Victor Cruz, Wes Welker and Hakeem Nicks. And defensively there's Vince Wilfork and Jason Pierre-Paul. As for the odds, well, there's only two quarterbacks, but six other players.

So, you can either bet on one specific player, a respective position, which is obviously more broad, or simply a non-quarterback. Between the two, Brady and Manning have three Super Bowl MVP awards, and with each defense being supremely vulnerable against the pass, it's reasonable to suspect an air show.

That said, a passing contest would only then up the ante for the receivers, being that there will be more targets, catches and yards for each. Also, the defensive pass rushers will have more opportunities to record sacks, tackles for loss, force/recover fumbles and deflect passes.

In the history of the Super Bowl, a quarterback has been named MVP 24 times, more than triple the next position (running backs, seven) and exactly four times the receivers (six). The question here is how much you trust each defense's ability to defend the pass and get quarterback pressure.

Bet on a quarterback

Overtime

Regardless of what the odds-makers say, overtime is a extremely risky bet in the Super Bowl.

For one, a Super Bowl has never gone to overtime in it's history, although having come close quite a few times. In addition, since the NFL began in 1920 there has been just two championship games that have gone into overtime.

The first was the legendary 1958 NFL Championship game between the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants, the next was the 1962 AFL Championship game between the Dallas Texans and Houston Oilers.

Obviously both games occurred before the merger and the AFL did not exist until 1960. To that end, if there's one Super Bowl that has overtime potential, it's this upcoming game.

Based on history alone the Giants have the '58 championship to their credit and two nail-biting Super Bowls (XXV, XLII). Add in how the Conference Championship Games played out and with this game being a rematch, New England is a suitable team to increase the overtime odds as well.

All this being said, don't count on Super Bowl XLVI going into overtime since none have yet done so.

Don't Bet in Favor of Overtime

Rating, Over/Under a 43 Rating

Click the link to view the all-time Super Bowl ratings.

Since the Super Bowl began in the 1966-67 NFL season, the ratings for the most part have gradually increased with the sport's popularity. All together, the 45 Super Bowls combine for an average rating of 43.1 however, the past two have surpassed that average.

And, when the Patriots and Giants met in Super Bowl XLII the rating was just 43.2, thus barely getting over the current average. What's also interesting is that no Super Bowl has had a higher rating than XVI between the San Francisco 49ers and Cincinnati Bengals after the 1981-82 season (49.1).

Provided that the ratings continue their gradual increase from the previous two seasons, however, it's quite possible that Super Bowl XLVI gets over the 43 rating.

For starters it's a rematch from just four years ago and it's two NFL teams from major market cities. Include the NFL's increasing popularity based on comparison to other sports and the odds are in favor of these ratings.

Not to mention the Super Bowl is just one game. Unlike the NBA, MLB or NHL where there's seven games to decide a series, football gives you one game, one chance to make the best of the opportunities.

In other words, less room for error creates more drama, excitement and a thrilling suspense.

"Over" a 43 Rating

John Rozum on Twitter.