Super Bowl props are now filling odds boards at sportsbooks from coast to coast, in advance of Sunday’s matchup between the Los Angeles Rams and Cincinnati Bengals.
Throughout the week leading up to Super Bowl 56 in Inglewood, California, Props.com will offer up our five favorite Super Bowl props for each teams’ skill position group on offense, as well as our top five defensive, kicker/punter, and special teams props. We’ll also break down five game-specific props; best bets for players to score the first touchdown, and even our favorite cross-sport props.
Yes, consider us your one-stop prop shop for Rams vs. Bengals. So be sure to check back all week for comprehensive and (we hope!) compelling Super Bowl 56 betting coverage.
Next up: Our favorite Super Bowl props for punters and place-kickers.
Odds via The SuperBook and updated as of 2 p.m. ET on Feb. 9.
Cincinnati Bengals: PK Evan McPherson
The Prop: 7.5 total points
The Odds: Over -120/Under -110
Adam Vinatieri might be the most clutch place-kicker in playoff/Super Bowl history. But no kicker has entered a Super Bowl hotter than Bengals rookie Evan McPherson.
In his last 14 games dating to Week 6, McPherson has drilled 35 of 36 field-goal attempts. And during the postseason, McPherson went 4-for-4 in all three Bengals victories (12-for-12 overall), including three makes from 50 yards and beyond.
In 19 regular-season and playoff games this season, McPherson has eclipsed 7.5 points 12 times — including nine of his 10 last outings since Week 11 (14, 11, 4, 11, 9, 11, 10, 14, 13, and 13 points).
Also, unlike a lot of his colleagues these days, McPherson has been money on point-after-touchdown attempts, going 46-for-48 on the season. And he’s had nine games this season with three or more made PATs.
We’re not sure McPherson will make four field goals for the fourth consecutive postseason game. But we do think he’ll have more than one opportunity. And as the cocky 22-year-old from Florida has shown lately, when he gets those opportunities, he cashes them in. Take the Over.
Los Angeles Rams: PK Matt Gay
The Prop: 1.5 total field goals
The Odds: Over -130/Under +110
While not quite as hot as McPherson, Rams kicker Matt Gay has been nearly as dependable. The third-year player was 32-for-34 in the regular season, and he’s 7-for-9 in the postseason.
Gay has made at least one field goal in 19 of 20 games this season (playoffs included), with the only goose egg taking place at Baltimore in Week 17. More importantly as it relates to this prop, the 27-year-old from Utah has made multiple field goals in 15 games (including all three of Los Angeles’ playoff contests).
In two seasons with the Rams, Gay is 27-for-29 on field-goal tries at SoFi Stadium, site of Super Bowl 56. However, one of those misses was a 54-yarder late in the second quarter of the NFC Championship Game against the San Francisco 49ers.
For what it’s worth, only one kicker has converted multiple field goals against Cincinnati in the last six games: the Raiders’ Daniel Carlson made three in the Wild Card round.
Cincinnati Bengals: P Kevin Huber
The Prop: 3.5 punts
The Odds: Over -140/Under +120
The heavy juice to the Over on this prop is curious, at least when examining what Kevin Huber has done in the playoffs: He punted twice against the Raiders in the Wild Card game, five times against the Titans in the Divisional round, and three times against the Chiefs two weeks ago.
Go back to a 41-21 rout of Baltimore in Week 16, when the Bengals never punted, and Huber has fallen short of this prop number in four of his last six games.
Reviewing the entire season, though, Huber punted at least four times in half of Cincinnati’s 20 games. Which pretty much makes this prop a tossup right? Well, let’s see if we can predict how often Huber will be called upon on Super Sunday by simply looking at the Bengals’ opponents this season.
Including the playoffs, Cincinnati faced nine teams that finished in the top half of the league in total defense, and 11 teams that finished in the bottom half.
Huber’s punt totals against upper-echelon defenses: 2, 5, 3, 2, 4, 7, 7, 2, 5
His punt totals against weaker defenses: 7, 5, 3, 3, 4, 4, 3, 4, 0, 3, 3
So when the Bengals faced a strong defense, Huber topped this prop number five of nine times (averaging 4.1 punts per contest). When they faced a lesser defense, Huber exceeded three punts five times in 11 games (3.6 per game).
Where did the Rams rank in total defense in the regular season? 17th, right at the top of the bottom half. So … yeah, this one’s a tossup.
Los Angeles Rams: P Johnny Hekker
The Prop: 53.5 yards on a gross punt
The Odds: Over -110/Under -110
Johnny Hekker made headlines three years ago when he boomed a 65-yard punt against Patriots in Super Bowl 53, setting a new Super Sunday record. (It was pretty much the Rams’ only highlight of a game they lost 13-3.)
Like that game three years ago in Atlanta’s Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Hekker will be kicking indoors in this Super Bowl — and on his home turf of SoFi Stadium. So you’d think he’d be a healthy lock for one punt of 54-plus yards on Sunday, right? After all, Hekker’s only punt in the NFC title game traveled 58 yards.
Like most props, however, it’s not that simple.
In 16 games dating back to Week 5, Hekker crossed the 54-yard threshold exactly half the time. Plus, on the eight occasions in which Hekker had four or more punts this season, the Oregon State product notched at least one punt of 54-plus yards … exactly half the time.
Number of times in 10 games at SoFi that Hekker bombed a punt of at least 54 yards: four.
Los Angeles Rams: P Johnny Hekker
The Prop: 0.5 pass attempts
The Odds: Over +6,000
Let’s be real: 60-to-1 long shots don’t pay off on the regular. And this one probably won’t, either. But if you’ve got a couple bucks left in your pocket after placing your other Super Bowl 56 action, this one is worth taking a flier on. The reason? Hekker could be one of the NFL’s most prolific passing punters.
In his 10-year pro career, Hekker has attempted at least one pass nine times. Overall, the former high school quarterback is 14-for-23 throwing the rock, including 1-for-1 this season in a Week 10 loss at San Francisco.
Yeah, but this is the Super Bowl. Surely, the Rams won’t do anything gimmicky on Sunday!
Eh, don’t be so sure. In the Rams’ NFC Championship Game victory over the Saints in 2018, coach Sean McVay called a fake punt, with Hekker completing a 12-yard pass for a first down.
It’s the only time he’s attempted a pass in nine career playoff games. Could attempt No. 2 come against the Bengals on Sunday? Don’t put it past the crafty McVay to call for it if the situation is right.
