7* Super Bowl XLIII ***HEAVY HITTER*** on Cardinals +7
Including Arizona’s wild card win when it opened as an underdog, the Cards are a perfect 3-0 as an underdog in these playoffs. While some will say they defied the odds, I’ll argue that the odds were not very good. Many got a soured opinion of this team when it was getting crushed late in the season but those were meaningless games as the Cards were the first to clinch a playoff spot. Warner proved against an Eagles defense, which is very similar to Pitt’s, that he can get rid of the ball quickly and accurately against the blitz. No team in the NFL has a receiving trio like Fitzgerald, Boldin, and Breaston and that is going to put a lot of heat on the Steelers secondary. Arizona’s defense has really stepped it up and it will face an offense that will not scare it one bit. The Steelers have struggled offensively all season and that is the main reason why they don’t deserve to be laying 7 points. The Cards also have the coaching edge with Whisenhunt knowing the Steelers personnel and tactics as well as anyone outside the Steelers. This was made evident when Arizona beat the Steelers in the regular season last year. Lastly, and most important, Arizona has brought its best against the best. Zona is 20-7 ATS in its last 27 when playing against a top-level team (Win Pct. > 75%). The average score was ARIZONA 20.4, OPPONENT 22.6 in these games. Take the points!
5* Super Bowl XLIII “TOTAL” Annihilator on Steelers/Cards UNDER 47
4 straight Super Bowls have gone under and it doesn’t come as much of a surprise as books love to elevate this line to take advantage of the overs loving public. There is a long layoff before the game. There is an elongated halftime. There are the nerves and all the distractions. All of these things work together to keep teams from being at their best offensively the entire game. We normally see teams play well in spurts in the Super Bowl. We’ll take the Under here.