Super Bowl LIV Betting Preview: Betting At WV Online Sportsbooks For The Big Game

Sports bettors can finally rejoice as Super Bowl LIV is finally almost here. One of the most wagered on sporting events of the year is set as the Kansas City Chiefs will battle the San Francisco 49ers on Feb. 2 in Miami.

Both teams came out victorious in their conference’s championship game last Sunday.

Kansas City won a hard-fought game against the Tennessee Titans in the AFC Championship. After trailing by 10 halfway through the first quarter, the Chiefs rallied behind quarterback Patrick Mahomes and actually led 21-17 going into the break.

They scored the next two touchdowns to go up by 18 points and that was basically the ball game. Mahomes totaled 347 total yards as well as four touchdowns on the afternoon.

In the NFC, the 49ers cruised to an even easier win. They led 27-0 at the half and the Green Bay Packers never really had a chance.

Quarterback Aaron Rodgers threw two interceptions and lost a fumble as the Packers offense struggled for most of the evening. The Green Bay defense didn’t do its job, either.

Niners running back Raheem Mostert ran for 220 yards and scored four times in the 37-20 victory. The inexperienced Jimmy Garoppolo was only forced to complete six of eight passes for 77 yards in the blowout.

While West Virginia sportsbooks have been busy lately, the Super Bowl should bring in more betting action than usual. Every state with legal sports wagering will see a major bump in overall betting handle for the week of the big game.

This will be the first time the current online sports betting apps offered in the Mountain State are available for Super Bowl betting. Those mobile betting apps are:

• DraftKings Sportsbook WV
• FanDuel Sportsbook

The two online sportsbooks already have plenty of lines up, including a bunch of player and game props.

Let’s take a deeper look at this year’s matchup and examine some of the best Super Bowl betting odds available.

Why San Francisco Will Win

The 49ers enter the bye week leading up to the Super Bowl as slight underdogs. Despite rolling in both of their playoff games, they opened as 1.5-point dogs at the majority of sportsbooks.

Although sportsbooks give the early betting edge to the Chiefs, many like San Francisco’s chances in this one.

The Niners rely on their amazing defense and balanced running attack to win games. Both of those have been on display during the postseason.

They rushed for 186 yards in the Divisional Round against Minnesota. Tevin Coleman tallied 105 yards on the ground and two touchdowns, while Mostert 58 more on 12 carries.

After Coleman went down with an injury early against Green Bay, Mostert took full advantage. The 49ers were unstoppable in the run game and Mostert totaled 220 yards and four scores.

Coleman, who rushed for 544 yards in 14 regular-season games, dislocated his right shoulder and exited the game. Fortunately, San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan said he believes that the running back has a “good chance” to play in the Super Bowl.

Regardless of who’s available, the Niners will lean on their backs to pace the offense. If they can control the line of scrimmage as they did against the Packers, then it won’t really matter how good the Chiefs offense is.

Kansas City’s defense has been impressive of late, though, and held Tennessee’s rushing-title winner to just 69 yards in the AFC Championship.

The strongest part of San Francisco is its defensive unit led by rookie defensive end Nick Bosa. The second-overall selection in last year’s draft has been a nightmare for offenses all season. He’s recorded 10 tackles and three sacks in the two playoff games.

Bosa is surrounded by several other capable players including:

• DeForest Buckner
• Arik Armstead
• Dee Ford

These standouts form one of the best defensive fronts in the league.

San Francisco will need all of these guys to create an impact on the game. By applying pressure on Mahomes, they could disrupt the Chiefs’ game plan and potentially get the quarterback off his game.

Controlling the line of scrimmage will be vital for the 49ers on both sides of the ball. They will need to run on offense and have their defensive front cause havoc in order to have success.

Why Kansas City Will Win

The Chiefs offense features the best vertical passing game in the NFL. Outside of Mahomes playing his position at a different level, Kansas City has some amazing talent on offense.

Tight end Travis Kelce is one of the best in football along with the Niners’ George Kittle. Kelce’s great regular season has transitioned into the playoffs seamlessly, as he’s caught 13 passes for 164 yards and three touchdowns in the two games.

Receiver Tyreek Hill is the top target on the outside thanks to his lightning-fast speed. Though a few players can make the claim, Hill is unquestionably among the fastest athletes in the sport.

Mahomes has a few other wideouts with ridiculous speed, too. Both Sammy Watkins and rookie Mecole Hardman have shown their athletic abilities over the last few games.

While Chiefs coach Andy Reid rarely commits to running the ball that often, he still gets starting back Damien Williams involved. Williams has 157 total yards and four touchdowns through the two playoff games.

With the best quarterback and perhaps the top receiving corps, Kansas City has been impossible to stop. In its last three games, KC’s scored 31, 51 and 35 points.

If Mahomes gets any sort of time from his offensive line, then the 49ers secondary might have some difficulties. The quarterback has been locked in lately and doesn’t appear to be slowing down.

He’s averaging over 360 total yards per game and thrown eight touchdowns against zero interceptions so far this postseason.

On defense, safety Tyrann Mathieu is a game-changer. He does a little bit of everything for the Chiefs improved unit. Mathieu’s accounted for 12 total tackles to go along with three pass deflections in the last two matchups.

Upfront, Kansas City can hurt opposing offenses with the combination of tackle Chris Jones and end Frank Clark. Jones is still getting back to full strength, but Clark has four sacks over the last two.

Unlike San Francisco, the Chiefs defense only needs to do just enough to have a shot at winning. If Kansas City can force a turnover or two, then it will probably score too many points for the Niners.

Super Bowl LIV Betting Odds

With such a small point spread for this year’s Super Bowl, it doesn’t really have too much of a factor in betting the game. Bettors picking one of the sides will simply go with which team they think will have the best opportunity to win.

Those who think defense wins championships will most likely choose the 49ers, whereas gamblers who put more of an emphasis on the coach and quarterback combo will bet the Chiefs.

It’s also possible that the betting odds will change a decent amount between now and Super Bowl Sunday. If the spread moves closer to three points, then this strategy may change.

As far as betting the game’s total is concerned, bettors will be split based on which team they think will be better. Those backing San Francisco will favor the under because of the Niners’ great defense.

On the other side, bettors on the Chiefs will probably pick the over more often than not. A Kansas City victory typically means its offense was able to click.

The game’s total is set around 54 points at most sportsbooks.

Beyond the standard lines available, bettors can put some action down on plenty of props as well. One of the most popular is which player will walk away with MVP honors.

Here are Super Bowl LIV’s current lines for the game as well as the MVP odds according to both DraftKings and FanDuel:

San Francisco 49ers vs. Kansas City Chiefs

Super Bowl MVP

DraftKings odds:

• Patrick Mahomes +115
• Jimmy Garoppolo +225
• Raheem Mostert +900
• George Kittle +1600
• Tyreek Hill +2000
• Travis Kelce +2000

FanDuel odds:

• Patrick Mahomes +110
• Jimmy Garoppolo +240
• Raheem Mostert +750
• George Kittle +1700
• Tyreek Hill +1700
• Travis Kelce +2000