Super Bowl 57 odds: Eagles settle in as favorite, but point spread varies

Throughout their magical season that will end in 13 days in Super Bowl 57, one thing has eluded the Philadelphia Eagles: respect from Super Bowl oddsmakers.

That lack of respect continued Sunday night when some sportsbooks initially installed the Kansas City Chiefs as high as a 2.5-point favorite to defeat Philadelphia in Super Bowl 57.

It didn’t take long, though, for the Super Bowl 57 betting market to show its love for the Eagles, who took a ton of early action. That quickly swung the line in Philadelphia’s direction.

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There figures to be some modest point spread movement leading up to Super Bowl 57 on Feb. 12. Same goes for the moneyline and total. However, one thing is clear: When the game kicks off at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona, the Eagles will be expected to hoist the Lombardi Trophy for the second time in franchise history.

Odds updated as of 11:45 a.m. ET on Jan. 30.

For the majority of the 2022-23 regular season, all the Eagles did was win.

Philadelphia opened up 8-0 on the way to a 14-3 campaign, with two of the losses coming late in the season with star quarterback Jalen Hurts on the sidelines nursing a shoulder injury.

Despite owning or sharing the league’s best record the entire way, the Eagles were constantly looking up at the Chiefs and Buffalo Bills on the Super Bowl odds board.

That finally started to change last week following the NFL Divisional Playoffs.

In the NFC, top-seeded Philadelphia kicked off its postseason with an emphatic 38-7 home rout of the New York Giants, while No. 2-seed San Francisco struggled to put away Dallas in a 19-12 victory.

Meanwhile, the second-seeded Bills were upset by the Cincinnati Bengals in one AFC matchup, while No. 1 seed Kansas City struggled to beat Jacksonville in the other. In the latter contest, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes suffered a high ankle sprain that temporarily forced him to leave the game.

The Mahomes injury was a huge reason why one sportsbook (BetMGM) pushed the Eagles to the top spot on their Super Bowl odds board, while another (Caesars) made Philly a co-favorite with Kansas City.

Finally, the team that had 40-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl in the offseason was looked as the Super Bowl frontrunner heading into Conference Championship weekend.

That team then walked into Lincoln Financial Field on Sunday and administered its second straight playoff beatdown, this one a 31-7 thumping of a 49ers squad that was riding a 12-game winning streak.

Philadelphia, which opened as a scant 1.5-point against San Francisco, easily covered a closing line that ranged from Eagles -2.5 to Eagles -3.

After Philadelphia (16-3) finished its destruction of the Niners to clinch its fourth Super Bowl berth, all eyes turned to the Bengals-Chiefs AFC Championship Game in Kansas City.

In a game that was competitive throughout, the Chiefs took advantage of a lengthy punt return, a Mahomes scramble and a late hit by Cincinnati to get into field-goal range — all in the final minute of action.

Kansas City kicker Harrison Butker drilled a 45-yarder as time expired for a 23-20 victory, sending the Chiefs to the Super Bowl for the third time in the last four years.

Within seconds of Butker’s kick splitting the uprights, the Super Bowl 57 betting market opened. And that’s when things got wacky.

Even though Philadelphia put 31 points on the NFL’s top-ranked defense in a never-in-doubt win; even though Kansas City barely escaped the Bengals at home; and even though the two teams were essentially co-Super Bowl favorites heading into the weekend, oddsmakers gave the point spread nod to the Chiefs.

It didn’t take long for professional and public bettors to vehemently disagree with that opinion.

Those bettors pounced on the underdog at prices ranging from Eagles +1 to Eagles +2.5. As Philly money continued to flood the market, the point spread pendulum swiftly flipped.

Now, some 13 hours after the initial send out, the Eagles are anywhere from a 1.5- to 2-point favorite, with the latter being the consensus.

The moneyline has ranged from a high of about Philadelphia -135/Kansas City +115 to a low of Philadelphia -125/Kansas City +105. The current consensus is Eagles -130/Chiefs +110.

The total (Over/Under) opened as low as 48.5 but is now holding firm at 49.5 across the board.

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BetMGM opened the Chiefs as a 1.5-point favorite for Super Bowl 57, moved all the way to Eagles -2.5 and is now at Eagles -2.

As of early Monday morning, the book reported that 66% of its early point spread bets and 69% of its early dollars were on the Eagles.

Early action on the moneyline is split at BetMGM, with 57% of the outright bets on underdog Kansas City but 68% of the cash on Philadelphia.

There’s also a difference of opinion on the total in the early going, as 61% of the tickets are on the Under while 54% of the cash is on the Over.

Those numbers absolutely will fluctuate in the coming two weeks. However, barring a major injury, we likely won’t see any huge moves in the point spread or total.

Indeed, the betting market expects a competitive Super Bowl in Arizona. Recent history, however, suggests otherwise.

Five of the last seven NFL title games were decided by at least eight points (including the Eagles’ 41-33 victory over the New England Patriots in Super Bowl 52).

Then again, Super Bowl 56 in Los Angeles last year came down to the wire, with the Rams edging Cincinnati 23-20 but failing to cover as a 4-point favorite.

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