Early money on Seahawks
The Super Bowl matchup was set after the Seahawks’ NFC title victory over the Rams, but it took a little longer for the betting line to settle.
The opening number varied across the market, ranging from Seattle -3.5 at DraftKings to -4.5 at Circa and as high as -5 at BetMGM vs. New England. By the end of the night, however, most sportsbooks had settled in at Seahawks -4.5.
Circa and BetMGM remained at -5, but — per former VSiNer Ben Fawkes — both books have some liability on Seahawks Super Bowl futures, which may explain why they weren’t exactly eager to invite additional Seattle money.
How they got to the Big Game in Santa Clara: Seattle held off the Rams 31-27 to cover the closing -2.5, with the game sailing past the total (42.5/43.5). In snowy Denver, the Patriots survived the Broncos 10-7 but failed to cover as 3.5-point favorites. That game stayed well Under the total of 43.
We have two weeks to break down matchups, trends, and betting angles, but VSiN.com managing editor Adam Burke offered some immediate perspective on the early line movement.
Lookahead lines had the Seahawks around -3.5 against the Patriots, but another uninspiring performance from the New England offense led to both an adjustment in the line and immediate action on the Seahawks.
Seattle knocked off one of the best and highest power-rated teams in the league over the course of the season, while the Patriots beat Jarrett Stidham. It’s a simplified way to look at things, but the NFL is driven heavily by perception and recency bias and a game that will be scrutinized in every which way possible for the next two weeks needs a good starting point with the opening odds.
Patrick Meagher and Mike Somich also weighed in with their early reactions on the Sharp Money podcast, and VSiN’s hosts today no doubt will continue to break down questionable coaching decisions from Denver’s Sean Payton and the Rams’ Sean McVay, along with some puzzling officiating moments from both games.
Meanwhile, we’re getting to work on the VSiN Super Bowl Betting Guide, which will be published for VSiN Pro subscribers on Tuesday, Feb. 3.
Still looking for somewhere to go to watch the Big Game? Circa has several options, but don’t wait too long. The hot spots go quickly.
Quick Hits
Coming Tuesday: “The Most Memorable Sports Betting Moments of 2025.” Our Top 10 list will be broadcast on a special one-hour show airing from 1-2 p.m. ET, hosted by Tim Murray with special appearances by the hosts that were most affected by the moments on the list. It wasn’t easy to cut the list down to 10, so Adam Burke put together the list of Nos. 11-20.
NBA: Zach Cohen‘s Best Bets and Steve Makinen‘s Analytics Report will hit around mid-morning on our NBA page. Our Opta AI NBA player props projections are here.
College Basketball: Greg “Hoops” Peterson has picks for today’s college basketball menu. Adam Burke offers his college basketball Best Bets Monday-Saturday. You can find them on our college basketball page mid-morning. Also look for Tyler Shoemaker‘s picks based on his ratings Monday-Thursday.
Get real-time steam alerts from the DonBest Screen. Sign up now for a 7-day free trial at go.donbest.com. Use the promo code VSIN10 for 10% off your initial subscription.
NHL: VSiN hockey analyst Jonathan Davis will post his Best Bets around mid-day.
Australian Open: You will be able to get Zach Cohen‘s daily Best Bets here on our special Aussie Open page. Zach and Gill Alexander add their picks to our tennis picks page.
