Super Bowl betting winners normally have very good defenses. If you go down throughout history in Super Bowl odds you will notice that the team with the superior defense usually won the game.
Which teams have the best defenses that can impact Super Bowl this year? Super Bowl last year saw the Pittsburgh Steelers have the #1 ranked defense in the NFL. The Steelers did win the Super Bowl but they did not cover the Super Bowl odds. The previous season the New York Giants upset the New England Patriots in Super Bowl betting and neither of those teams was great on defense as the Giants ranked 17th in the league.
In 2006 the Colts were 23rd on defense but they were facing a Chicago offense that was erratic and Indianapolis got their star safety, Bob Sanders back in the playoffs which made them a much better defensive team. In 2005 the Steelers won in Super Bowl and they were ranked 3rd defensively. The Patriots were the Super Bowl winner in 2004 and they ranked 2nd while in 2003 the Patriots were 1st on defense and in 2002 the Bucs were ranked 1st.
What about the defenses for this year’s Super Bowl betting contenders? The New York Jets had the top ranked defense in the NFL this season. The Dallas Cowboys had the second ranked defense in the league. The Baltimore Ravens were third and they are already out. The Indianapolis Colts were 8th in total points allowed. The Minnesota Vikings were 10th while the San Diego Chargers were 11th. The concern for those backing the New Orleans Saints in Super Bowl betting is that they have the worst defense of the remaining teams. The Saints were 20th in the league on defense. If New Orleans ends up being the ultimate winner in Super Bowl odds they will have bucked the trends of teams that have a solid defense and they will also buck the trend of teams coming into the playoffs cold as the Saints lost their last three regular season games.
Offenses get a lot of the attention in Super Bowl but history shows that the defenses usually win the games. That has changed a little bit in recent seasons but even with the explosive offenses of teams like Indianapolis and New Orleans, the top defenses in the league usually more than hold their own in Super Bowl odds.