Opening Odds and Betting Lines for the 2021 Super Bowl – Kansas City Chiefs vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers

The stage is set for Super Bowl 55. It was a long and trying NFL season, but the two best teams emerged from the AFC and NFC title games (I suppose), and Super Bowl 2021 finally has it’s matchup.

Young versus old takes the cake, as Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs will shoot for the rare repeat. On the other side is the ageless wonder, Tom Brady, and his Tampa Bay Buccaneers.

Tom Terrific did his best to give away the NFC title game, but ultimately helped punch Tampa Bay’s ticket to, well, their own stadium.

Yes, the Bucs become the first NFL team ever to host a Super Bowl, which all by itself makes Super Bowl 2021 one to remember.

The battle between Mahomes and Brady is also must-see TV, while Mahomes and the Chiefs hope to build a dynasty, and Brady aims to distance himself from Bill Belichick.

Before you get to betting on Super Bowl 55, of course, you may want to pay some mind to the early 2021 Super Bowl odds.

Normally I take a look at the early NFL betting lines for a full slate, but I’ll conduct business a bit differently with just one game remaining on the slate.

With that, join me as I break down the opening NFL odds and betting lines for the 2021 Super Bowl.

The initial Super Bowl 55 odds favor the Chiefs. It makes sense in one regard, as they went 14-2 during the regular season, and are looking to repeat as NFL champions.

BACK-TO-BACK.

The Kansas City @Chiefs are AFC champions and headed back to the Super Bowl! pic.twitter.com/vXjDNL2OhU

— Sunday Night Football on NBC (@SNFonNBC) January 25, 2021

Of course, they have to march into Tampa Bay, where the Buccaneers literally will be at home with a shot at the league title.

The spread is fairly tight – as it should be – as these are two stacked teams with plenty of talent on both sides of the ball. They both also happen to have elite quarterbacks and risk-taking coaches running the show, as well.

Early Super Bowl 55 betting lines set up a tight affair that tentatively leans toward Kansas City winning, and the 57 game total suggests plenty of fireworks.

Kansas City just got done putting up 38 points in a rout of the Bills in the AFC title game, and the Bucs scored at least 30 points in all of their 2021 NFL playoff games.

The early lines are honestly right about where they should be, and the above Super Bowl 2021 odds are a rough consensus. There can always be a bit of line movement within two weeks before the game is actually played, but I’ll be surprised if it’s massive.

Still, it may make sense to get your 2021 Super Bowl bets in early, and to exploit whatever advantage you see right now.

To help point out any potential edge at the moment, let’s take a quicker look at the Super Bowl 55 odds at the top sites, hitting the major bets along the way.

As suggested, most Super Bowl betting sites are in agreement here. The Chiefs enter as three-point favorites, and 3.5 is probably as thick as you’ll find this line.

Injuries or action could sway this line slightly, but this is likely going to be a very close game, and it will be tough to predict. Both quarterbacks have won a title before, and both offenses are very tough to defend.

The defenses are even pretty nasty, so either side can answer each punch. Suffice to say, it won’t shock anyone regardless of how it goes, and this game being decided by less than a touchdown is the one thing most can likely agree on.

As for the pricing, Chiefs bettors may want to act now and use BetNow, BetUs, and BetOnline to bet against the spread. If so, you can take solace in the fact that the Chiefs were 14-2 on the year, and 8-0 on the road.

Kansas City was great overall, but they didn’t always answer the call to defend their title. At least not as the oddsmakers priced them to.

On the other side, the top sites to bet on the Buccaneers ATS are Bovada and MyBookie. MyBookie has the mild edge with the -110 price, and no matter where you bet, that tiny difference in price may mean a lot when you’re placing bets.

Tampa Bay was a respectable 11-8 against the spread this year, and something tells me they don’t like to be disrespected. Brady and co. went a staggering 4-1 ATS as the underdog.

They are playing Super Bowl 55 in their own backyard, which may be slightly disconcerting for a team that went a “meh” 5-3 at their home field in 2020.

Super Bowl 55 point spreads are at risk of moving all over the place over the next two weeks. To get things going, though, you should have a better idea as to how much you can trust either side, and which Super Bowl sportsbooks make the most sense for this type of bet.

If you don’t like messing around with point spreads, you can just bet on who will win Super Bowl 55.

The early Super Bowl 2021 odds suggest the Chiefs might do that, but keep in mind that the favorite to win the Super Bowl doesn’t always win.

Being a favorite is still better than not, but throughout history, Super Bowl betting favorites are 36-18 overall, and 12-13 against the spread.

How you apply that information to betting on Super Bowl 2021, of course, is up to you.

Concerning the Super Bowl 55 moneyline, the best sites to bet on Tampa Bay are MyBookie and Bovada. They offer the most upside for this year’s Super Bowl underdogs.

I already noted that Tampa Bay has gone 4-1 ATS as an underdog this year, and I don’t know if a 3-2 straight up mark as the dog hurts them in the eyes of bettors.

They offer the better price, but it’s tough to balk at Kansas City’s moneyline. The worst it gets is a still palatable -185 at MyBookie, while you can still bet on the Chiefs at -165 at BetUs.

This is the defending champion Chiefs that have one loss in their last 26 meaningful games.

The Chiefs have lost once across their last 26 meaningful games. Unreal.

— JJ Zachariason (@LateRoundQB) January 25, 2021

Yeah, pretty cool stuff.

I’m not here to tell you which side to take. I’ll leave that to our NFL betting picks section. That said, both teams offer solid value in what figures to be one heck of a barn burner.

Lastly, we come to the Super Bowl 55 game total, which appears to be straight fire.

I don’t think anyone will be up in arms about this, either, seeing as these are two very explosive offenses that are coming off of fantastic performances.

Tampa Bay topped 30+ points in each of their three playoff wins to this point, and Kansas City torched the Bills for 38 points this past weekend. Had Patrick Mahomes not succumbed to injury two weeks ago, perhaps KC slays the Cleveland Browns, as well.

I wouldn’t read too much into the over/under history for the Chiefs, as they often had outlandish game totals, and most teams were giving them all they had each week.

It’s a heck of a thing to take out the reigning champs, after all.

Kansas City saw the Over go a paltry 9-9 because of that, but considering their usually lofty totals, I think that’s plenty fine. Tampa Bay makes up for it, as the Over went 11-8 for them on the year.

Both teams were top-five in scoring, averaging north of 29 points per game. Tampa Bay offers a more dynamic ground game, but both teams love to throw the ball, and they have no issues attacking defenses.

Kansas City is much more vulnerable on the ground, of course, but Tampa Bay’s clear issues against the pass probably set this up to be a fast-paced, high-scoring affair.

It doesn’t hurt to look back at past Super Bowls for a glimpse at how games can go. In doing that, bettors can see that three of the last four big games at least eclipsed 50+ total points.

As for the Super Bowl 55 total in particular, it’s probably a three-way tie between Bovada, BetNow, and BetUs (56.5), just because this game is likely to be pretty explosive.

Disagree? Hammer the Under as fast as possible at MyBookie, where the total is set at 57.5.

Is it crazy to break down early Super Bowl 55 odds? I don’t think so. There are two weeks for everything to completely change, but if an early look can lock down a winning bet, it’s always worth it.

I’ve done this all year. When you stretch it out over a full NFL schedule each week, yes, things aren’t always condensed enough to make the right bet every time.

But this is one huge game that comes in two weeks. Not a whole lot should happen to logically force lines to move. They will move anyways, but it’s up to you to figure out which bets you really like, and if now is the time to target them.

Just make sure you feel good about said bets, and that the price you’re targeting now is (likely) the best you can get your hands on.

There is so much to consider when betting on Super Bowl 55. However, the spread, moneyline, and total are three of the most popular bets to go after, and an early look at them just might point you to the perfect bet.

For more Super Bowl 55 content, odds, and analysis, check out our Super Bowl betting blog.