Defense wins championships. That’s the age-old sentiment. The offense gets you there, but the defense can win you titles too. In each of the last four Super Bowls, the losing team scored 20 or fewer points; that includes high-powered offenses like the Chiefs and Bengals. In this article, we’ll look at Super Bowl defense props for the Kansas City Chiefs.
Each year, the Super Bowl offers more props than you can reasonably sort through. That includes individual defensive props from sacks to tackles and team turnovers. Here are some of the offerings that stood out in the matchups.
Super Bowl Defense Props: Chiefs Players
Bet on any props in the table below by clicking on the odds. For more props analysis for the Super Bowl, visit our NFL Player Props page. You can also explore Chiefs defensive props.
DT Chris Jones
Until the AFC Championship Game, Chris Jones did not record a career postseason sack. That career includes 14 postseason games over seven seasons. He logged five QB hits, but never a sack. That is, until he logged two sacks and five QB hits against Joe Burrow and the Bengals alone.
He’s the lone Chief defender to have an individual sack prop, set at Over 0.75 (-125) at DraftKings Sportsbook. Jones averaged a pressure, hit, or sack (DPR) on 8.3% of his pass rushes this season, per PFF. Against a Philadelphia Eagles offensive line that allowed the seventh-lowest pressure rate this season (18.3%) and against a QB as mobile as Jalen Hurts, I’m inclined to take under his sack total.
The other half of the equation is opportunity. Hurts averaged 35 dropbacks per game this season, but just 26 and 27 dropbacks in the last two playoff games. Against a Chiefs’ defense that’s 22nd in EPA per rush, I anticipate a run-heavy approach. (See: Why I’m betting under Hurts’ passing props.)
If Hurts attempts somewhere around his prop of 31.5 passes, we can assume Jones will have around 2.61 opportunities to log a DPR on Hurts in this game (31.5 attempts times 8.3% DPR rate). That’s lower than his season average of 2.89 opportunities, 18% of which resulted in an outright sack (17 sacks on 93 DPR). That number– in a vacuum– comes out to be 0.47 expected sack opportunities (2.61 DPR opportunities times 18% sack rate on DPR). I’m also accounting for the Eagles truly elite offensive line, so under 0.75 sacks is where I fall.
Super Bowl Sack Props
Super Bowl Tackles Props
Super Bowl Interception Props
Chiefs Team Defense Props
The Chiefs’ sack total this season (55) would have been more noteworthy if not for the Eagles’ near-record number (70). KC generated pressure on 24.9% of opposing dropbacks, fifth-most in the NFL. Like most elite pass rushes, the Chiefs didn’t have to blitz to get that kind of pressure on the opposing QB. Instead, they let game wreckers like Jones and Frank Clark work, who combined for 22 sacks this year.
Team defense props really come in three forms: team sacks, opposing team turnovers, and opposing team point totals (.
Betting on team sacks when that defense is facing a mobile QB like Hurts is a slippery slope. On one side, you have Hurts’ ability to escape pressure and avoid taking sacks. On the other, should he tuck and run and not get back to the line of scrimmage, it’s logged a sack rather than a standard tackle for loss.
Betting team totals is usually a weak market with value to be had, but it becomes much stronger of a market during an event like the Super Bowl. Currently, the Eagles are lined for Over 25.5 points (-110), a number likely to move as the spread () and total () do.
DraftKings SGP Defensive Prop Bets
DraftKings Sportsbook offers same game parlay odds on defensive props. Fans can win big by taking action at the titular sportsbook, wagering on the defensive side of the ball. Players can combine sacks, tackles, and interceptions on a single ticket. Bettors can even add combined props such as defensive TD and Chiefs to win into a parlay slip. Betting with SGP on super Bowl 57 will increase the potential payouts for the Big Game. DraftKings is the place to be for defensive prop betting and SGP.
Cross-Sport Specials
Over at DraftKings Sportsbook, there are plenty of Super Bowl prop bets that are intertwined with other sports. One of those includes how well the Chiefs will limit Jalen Hurts on the ground versus LeBron James’ PRA against the Portland Trailblazers on Sunday.
James is a short favorite (-120) to exceed Hurts’ rushing yards total (-110). Mind you, he passed Kareem Abdul-Jabbar as the NBA’s all-time leading scorer (38,390 career points) on Tuesday. His PRA prop is usually listed in the O/U 45.5 range.
Meanwhile, Hurts has yet to rush for over 40 yards in either of the Eagles’ two playoff wins. His rushing yards prop is set at 48.5 (-112) this time around.
Continue the conversation on our Discord channel. Keep up-to-date with TheLines coverage of Super Bowl 57 odds leading up to kickoff.
Super Bowl LVII Player Props Catalog
Bet on any Super Bowl defense props by clicking on odds in the table below. Toggle between dozens of props using the dropdown menu, including sacks, tackles and interceptions.
Super Bowl Sportsbook Offers In Your State
