According to NFL game odds, who will do like Rambo and draw first blood in the Super Bowl 51? People ask us, “do you know if the Patriots or Falcons will score first?” And we answer, “well, of course we know that. What else is there? A kitten?” Seriously though, the NFL Superbowl line indicates that the New England Patriots will score first and, by process of elimination, the Atlanta Falcons will score last.
Team to score first in the game will be:
Patriots -135
Falcons +105
And now just for kicks and giggles, let’s recap when, where, and how the New England Patriots scored first in the 2016 regular season as well as the playoffs. That must have influenced their NFL games odds to score first in the Super Bowl 51, right? And maybe even the NFL Superbowl line, in which the Patriots are favorites to win the championship game.
Regular season
• Week 1 at Arizona Cardinals, first quarter (7:42), Chris Hogan 37-yard pass from Jimmy Garoppolo, touchdown.
• Week 2 vs. Miami Dolphins, first quarter (11:39), Danny Amendola 12-yard pass from Garoppolo, touchdown.
• Week 3 vs. Houston Texans, first quarter (2:11), Stephen Gostkowski 24-yard field goal.
• Week 5 at Cleveland Browns, first quarter (10:32) LeGarrette Blount 1-yard run, touchdown.
• Week 6 vs. Cincinnati Bengals, first quarter (12:11) Gostkowski 46-yard field goal/
• Week 7 at Pittsburgh Steelers, first quarter (3:03) James White 19-yard pass from Tom Brady, touchdown.
• Week 8 at Buffalo Bills, first quarter (11:07) Dan Carpenter 23-yard field goal.
• Week 10 vs. Seattle Seahawks, first quarter (10:30) Blount 1-yard run, touchdown.
• Week 11 at San Francisco 49ers, first quarter (10:16) Julian Edelman 4-yard pass from Brady, touchdown.
• Week 13 vs. LA Rams, first quarter (10:46) Blount 43-yard run, touchdown.
• Week 14 vs. Baltimore Ravens, first quarter (10:53) Malcom Brown, safety.
• Week 15 at Denver Broncos, first quarter (12:32) Gostkowski 45-yard field goal.
• Week 16 vs. NY Jets, first quarter (8:20) Gostkowski 29-yard field goal.
• Week 17 at Dolphins, first quarter (7:35) Martellus Bennett 2-yard pass from Brady, touchdown.
Post season
• AFC Divisional Playoffs: vs. Texans, first quarter (9:34) Dion Lewis 13-yard pass from Brady, touchdown.
• AFC Championship: vs. Steelers, first quarter (13:12) Gostkowski 31-yard field goal.
So there we have it; the New England Patriots scored first 14 times during the regular season (and only lost one of the games in which they were the first team to score points), and have scored first in their two postseason games too. All of which justifies the NFL games odds that they will also score first in the Super Bowl 51. All that remains to be seen is whether the first strike will be deadly, and thus justify the Pats’ position in the NFL Superbowl line as well. Remember that the championship game is schedule to take place on Sunday, February 5th at NRG Stadium in Houston Texas at 6:30 p.m. EST/5:30 p.m. CST. The game weather is yet to be determined, but the stadium has a retractable roof, so it’s all good.