Super Bowl Point Spread 2018: Money Line, Over/Under for Eagles vs. Patriots

The Super Bowl is one of the top betting days of the year due to the large amount of ridiculous prop bets.

For those who choose to stay away from betting on everything from the length of the national anthem to the color of Justin Timberlake's shoes at the start of the halftime show, the money line and over/under are in play.

The lines for Super Bowl LII are intriguing and difficult at the same time given the recent history of the NFL's championship game and the Patriots' propensity to participate in nailbiting affairs at the Super Bowl.

As expected, the Patriots are the favorite for Sunday's game at U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis, Minnesota, but the 4.5-point spread leaves the door open to bet on the Philadelphia Eagles while still rooting for the five-time champion to win.

The over/under will put some in a predicament as well as it's currently set at 48.5 points. The Patriots have typically played in Super Bowls in which they score in the teens or low twenties, while all seven of their past opponents in the Tom Brady-Bill Belichick era have failed to reach 30 points.

Super Bowl LII Betting Lines

Spread: New England (-4.5) 

Over/Under: 48.5

Is It Possible for the Eagles to Cover and Lose?

Knowledgeable bettors are well-aware the Patriots have a margin of victory of three or four points in four of their five Super Bowl victories.

If that trend continues on Sunday, there's a chance the Eagles could cover while still falling short of their first NFL title since the 1960 NFL Championship.

However, if you look at this year's results, you'll notice the Eagles have played just two games in which the margin of victory was four points or less.

Those results came in Weeks 3 and 4 against the New York Giants and Los Angeles Chargers, with the win over the Giants coming on a game-winning 61-yard field goal by kicker Jake Elliott.

Matt Rourke/Associated Press

New England experienced the same fortune in Weeks 3 and 4 as it defeated the Houston Texans by three and lost to the Carolina Panthers by the same margin.

The Patriots have participated in two other contests in which the margin of victory was four points or less, with the most recent occurrence coming in the AFC Championship against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

With 11 percent of games featuring the Eagles and Patriots this season being decided by four points or less, it becomes harder to wager on the Eagles to cover if you think the Patriots will be the victorious team.

Picking either team straight up is the safest bet, but if you're willing to take chances with your money, selecting the Eagles to cover and hoping for a Patriots win is your ideal wager.

Can You Make a Legitimate Argument To Select the Under?

If Philadelphia quarterback Carson Wentz was starting in the Super Bowl, we'd suggest to wager heavily on the over in a showdown of NFL Most Valuable Player candidates between the North Dakota State product and Brady.

But the reality is Nick Foles will be under center for the Eagles, and he's delivered mixed results in terms of points since taking over for the injured Wentz.

Before the 38-point outburst in the NFC Championship, the Eagles scored a total of 34 points in three games, including the 15-10 win over the Atlanta Falcons in the divisional round.

On the other end of the spectrum, the Patriots have put more than 20 points on the scoreboard in all but one game this season. The lone exception was their Week 5 win over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in which they scored 19 points. 

Adam Glanzman/Getty Images

In their last five contests, the Patriots are averaging 29.8 points per game, while the Eagles have recorded 21.2 points per game in the same stretch.

If both teams come close to reaching those averages on Sunday, the over will barely hit, but if either team drops below those numbers, the under comes into play.

If you applied the over/under for Super Bowl LII to the last 10 championship tilts, six contests would have reached the over, with four of the last five games falling into that category.

After looking at some of the recent trends, the over seems like the obvious bet, but if defense controls the first half, the under will be in play, even if Brady conducts a fourth-quarter comeback.

Follow Joe on Twitter, @JTansey90.

Statistics obtained from Pro Football Reference.

Odds obtained from Oddsshark.com.