Seattle Seahawks defensive back Sherman sings while stretching with teammates before their NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football practice in East Rutherford
Seattle Seahawks defensive back Sherman sings while stretching with teammates before their NFL Super Bowl XLVIII football practice in East Rutherford Reuters

Who will come out on top of Super Bowl XLVIII? And more importantly, for sports bettors, which team will cover the spread after the NFL championship? Will the totals line go over or under? We’ve discussed the O/U possibilities in a previous article, and now it’s time to take a hard look at the spread-busting potential of both teams.

READ ALSO: Super Bowl XLVIII Cheat Sheet: Betting Odds, Trends for Total Score (Over/Under)

The spread betting odds for Super Bowl XLVIII is a near pick ’em with the lines playing between 1.5 and 2.5 in most sports books with the Broncos pegged as the favourites.

Betting Lines: Seattle Seahawks (+2) vs. Denver Broncos (O/U: 47.5)
 Game time: 9:30 am AEDT (Feb 3, Monday)

Super Bowl History (Against the Spread) – Last 10 Years:

Super Bowl – Results

XLVII – Baltimore Ravens 34, San Francisco 49ers 31 (BAL wins game, BAL covers as 4.5 point underdogs)
XLVI – New York Giants 21, New England Patriots 17 (NYG wins game, NYG covers as 2.5 underdogs)
XLV – Green Bay Packers 31, Pittsburgh Steelers 25 (GB wins game, GB covers as 3 point favourites)
XLIV – New Orleans Saints 31, Indianapolis Colts 17 (NOS wins game, NO covers as 5 point underdogs)
XLIII – Pittsburgh Steelers 27, Arizona Cardinals 23 (PIT wins game, ARI covers as 7 point underdogs)
XLII – New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (NYG wins game, NYG covers as 12 point underdogs)
XLI - Indianapolis Colts 29, Chicago Bears 17 (IND wins game, IND covers as 7 point favourites)
XL- Pittsburgh Steelers 21, Seattle Seahawks 10 (PIT wins game, PIT covers as 4 point favourites)
XXIX – New England Patriots 24, Philadelphia Eagles 21 (NE wins game, PHI covers as 7 point underdogs)
XXXVIII – New England Patriots 32, Carolina Panthers 29 (NE wins game, CAR covers as 7 point underdogs)
XXXVII – Tampa Bay Buccaneers 48, Oakland Raiders 21 (TB wins game, TB covers as 4 point underdogs)

In the last 10 years, the underdogs have been barking in the biggest game in football covering eight out of ten times and also winning half of the games straight up. More recently, underdogs have gone on to win ML and ATS the last two Super Bowls.

Seattle Seahawks Trends
 - The Seahawks are 34-16-1 ATS in their last 51 games
- The Seahawks are 13-4 ATS in their last 17 games vs. teams with winning records
- The Seahawks are 18-7 ATS in their last 25 games after a win
- The Seahawks are 12-5 ATS in their last 17 games after an ATS win

Denver Broncos Trends
 - The Broncos are 8-3 ATS in their last 11 games
- The Broncos are 3-7 ATS in their last 10 games in the postseason
- The Broncos are 3-1 ATS in their last 4 games
- The Broncos are 5-2 ATS in their last 7 games