Patriots top NFL 2017 betting after Super Bowl LI stunner

WHEN Robert Alford picked off an errant Tom Brady pass late in the first half and dashed 82 yards to put the Atlanta Falcons 21-0 up, it seemed the New England Patriots would have to wait another year at least for their fifth Super Bowl crown.

What unfolded after the main break was epic on a level that even Lady Gaga’s half-time extravaganza could not match.

Displaying every known characteristic of a true champion team, the Pats whittled away at that deficit until, with less than a minute left on the clock, they needed a two-point conversion to level the scores at 28 apiece.

They got it, thus forcing the first overtime finale in Super Bowl history.

Eight plays later, James White crept into the end zone to trigger sudden death as New England completed a comeback win for the ages.

The Pats pulled off a string of key plays in the second half, most memorable of which was Julian Edelman’s incredible juggled catch late in the fourth quarter.

And yet, quite predictably, all anyone wanted to talk about in the immediate aftermath at NRG Stadium was New England’s superstar QB.

Well below his best in the opening half, Brady rose like the proverbial phoenix from the ashes to finish with 466 passing yards, a pair of touchdown plays and even a rare 15-yard rush.

It was a fitting trajectory for a player who missed the first four games of the 2016 NFL season through suspension as a result of the ‘deflategate’ fiasco.

Now he is the first quarterback in history to win five Super Bowl rings, and online bookmakers have him slated as a red-hot chance to make it six next year.

The Patriots have opened as +550 favourites in Bet365’s outright betting market for Super Bowl LII, which will take place in Minneapolis on February 4, 2018.

At +800 on the second line are the Seattle Seahawks and the Dallas Cowboys, who have not reached the big dance since winning Super Bowl XXX in 1996.

The Green Bay Packers (+1000) are tipped to be there or thereabouts again after reaching the NFC Conference Game this year, while the Falcons and the Pittsburgh Steelers ($13 each) round out the top handful of prospects.

Those chasing a bolt from the blue might look to the Bears, the Jaguars, the Rams, or the 49ers, all of whom are paying $101 for a shock NFL 2017 title win.

But even they look like relative contenders compared to the eternally luckless Cleveland Browns (+20000), who have not reached the playoffs in 14 years.

2017-18 NFL outright betting

All odds provided by Bet365.com.au

$6.50 – New England Patriots

+800 – Dallas Cowboys, Seattle Seahawks

+1000 – Green Bay Packers

+1200 – Atlanta Falcons

+1600 – Kansas City Chiefs

+1800 – Arizona Cardinals, Denver Broncos, Oakland Raiders

+2200 – Carolina Panthers

+2500 – Minnesota Vikings, New York Giants

+2800 – Baltimore Ravens, Cincinnati Bengals

+3300 – Houston Texans

+4000 – Indiana Colts, New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Washington Redskins

+5300 – Detroit Lions, Miami Dolphins, Tennessee Titans

+6600 – Buffalo Bills

+8000 – Los Angeles Chargers, New York Jets

+10000 – Chicago Bears, Jacksonville Jaguars, Los Angeles Rams, San Francisco 49ers

+20000 – Cleveland Browns