It took all of Patrick Mahomes’ magic to help the Chiefs win their third Super Bowl in four years.

But smart players don’t believe in magic. They’re betting that the Philadelphia Eagles will beat Kansas City in Super Bowl LVII for their second NFL title in six years.

Less than 30 minutes after the Super Bowl line opened at several bookmakers, the Eagles were the consensus favorite by a point and a half. Thirty minutes later, Philadelphia was up to -2½ on Westgate SuperBook, BetMGM and Circa Sports who opened the Chiefs -2½ before quickly flipping the favorite.

“I wouldn’t be surprised if it goes up to 3,” said Jay Kornegay, vice president of SuperBook. “We wanted to favor Philadelphia a bit just because of the injuries that Kansas City are facing. I think Philadelphia is better and healthier.”

BetMGM made a $135,000 bet to win $100,000 on the Eagles on a moneyline (-135) and Caesars made a $110,000 bet for more than the consensus amount of 49½.

Caesars also placed five straight bets over $50,000 – two on the Chiefs at pick’em and three on the Eagles-1.

“We had such a draw before. I’m a little surprised why the market swung so hard towards the Eagles,” said Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars. “Now it’s all the Eagles. I think they get a lot of value out of their performance (Sunday).”

Philadelphia Special

Philadelphia beat San Francisco 31–7 in the NFC title game, easily clinching a 2.5-point favorite against the 49ers, who lost starting quarterback Brock Purdy with an elbow injury on first possession and later lost fourth-string quarterback Josh Johnson. shake.

“The letter was on the wall when Purdy got injured,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Macklow said. “It was definitely a good result for the bookies. They were all over Philadelphia and below it.

“And as soon as you see the starting quarterback get out of the game, that’s also a one-way play (bet) move.”

The Las Vegas Books won on the futures as the Nines, their biggest Super Bowl liability, were eliminated.

“So we’re taking a short-term loss for a long-term gain,” Macklow said. “It was our best result, the Chiefs Eagles final.

San Francisco fans and bettors can only wonder what might have happened if coach Kyle Shanahan had thrown the challenge flag on Philadelphia’s first TD drive when DeVonta Smith caught a 29-yard pass on fourth and third. Replays showed the ball hit the ground.

“I’m really surprised the 49ers didn’t ask that question,” Kornegay said. “Smith told the whole world he didn’t get it.”

There are less than 44½ left in the game.

Bengals or bust

Bettors lost big to the Bengals, who were a popular pick as 1½-point underdogs after the line changed frequently throughout the week due to uncertainty surrounding Mahomes’ high ankle sprain.

Cincinnati rallied from a 13–3 and 20–13 deficit to equalize in a thrilling AFC title rematch before Kansas City took the midfield spot with 30 seconds left.

Mahomes missed three wide receivers with injuries and limped as he started running on third and fourth. Barely scoring a first down, he went out of bounds when he received a late shot from Joseph Ossai. A 15-yard penalty provided Harrison Butker with a 45-yard field goal that propelled the Chiefs to a dramatic 23–20 victory.

The game also stayed below the 48½ total, much to the chagrin of most players, with the notable exception of a BetMGM player who won $1 million on accounts under 49 (-120).

“Both results were good for our side,” said Chuck Esposito, director of bookmaker Red Rock Resort. “Keeping the Kansas City/Cincinnati game under control was extremely important.”

MGM Resorts director of sales Lamarr Mitchell said the Nevada book won seven-figure prizes in conference championships, mostly at the AFC.

super pen

The books foresee another large sum of money wagered on the NFL’s two highest-scoring teams after breaking the state record for most Super Bowl bets last year with $179.8 million wagered.

“This is a great match,” said Kornegay. “Because the Super Bowl is in Arizona, basically down the street from us, we expect a lot of Super Bowl participants to probably drive through Vegas before they get to Glendale.”

Contact Correspondent Todd Dewey at [email protected]. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.

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