Another marquee Super Bowl is upon us, with the Carolina Panthers taking on the Denver Broncos. For the third straight season, the top seed in each conference has reached the big game, and this one is expected to break the all-time Super Bowl betting handle of $119.4 million set two years ago in Super Bowl XLVIII between Seattle and Denver.
Chalk's Super Bowl Betting Guide aims to bring you a comprehensive look at Super Bowl 50 and hopefully produce as many winners as last year's guide.
Insider's team of pro football handicappers (Dave Tuley, Geoff Kulesa from wunderdog.com, Erin Rynning and Warren Sharp), as well as John Parolin of ESPN Stats & Information, will give their thoughts on the point spread and over/under as well as break down a bunch of the ever-popular proposition bets.
All lines courtesy of Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook unless otherwise noted.
Carolina Panthers vs. Denver Broncos (in Santa Clara, California)
Spread: Opened Carolina -4; now Carolina -5.5
Total: Opened 45; now 44.5
Public consensus pick: 72 percent picked Carolina
Tuley's take: I know everyone who follows me is assuming I would be on the underdog in the Super Bowl, but I wasn't so sure myself. Based on the Westgate SuperBook's advance line of Carolina -3 and my personal power ratings, I didn't think I would be getting enough points to get me to back Denver. (Note: I have faded Peyton Manning often in his career, never more so than in the Super Bowl two years ago against Seattle.)