Super Bowl Running Back Props: Youngsters Pacheco, Gainwell Ready to Hit The Ground Running

Will Miles Sanders Find His Way Into the End Zone Once Again for the Eagles?

It’s been more than 20 years since a running back was the Super Bowl MVP (Denver’s Terrell Davis earning the honor in Super Bowl XXXI after the 1998 season). There’s nothing to suggest any of these running backs are about to end that drought here.

The last running back with a 100-yard game in the Super Bowl was Damien Williams. He had 104 yards when the Kansas City Chiefs defeated the San Francisco 49ers in the Super Bowl after the 2019 season. It seems unlikely to have a 100-yard rusher on Sunday.

Still, there is money to be made thanks to the Super Bowl running back props.

One thing to consider when looking at the Super Bowl lines is that the total has gone up from 50 to 51 so that is an indication that those who bet online are expecting a high-scoring affair in the Super Bowl.

Sanders to Strike Early

Only Kansas City tight end Travis Kelce is ahead of Philadelphia’s Sanders in the odds to score the first touchdown so keep that in mind when considering the Super Bowl running back props.

Sanders is coming off a two-touchdown game in the NFC championship game and that ended a run of six straight games without Sanders reaching the end zone.

There are a lot of mouths to feed when the Eagles reach the red zone. Hurts has been known to call his own numbers while Gainwell is coming on strong.

It will be tempting to go with Gainwell at +1800 to score the first touchdown of the game; however, Sanders has 13 rushing touchdowns to just five for Gainwell between the regular NFL season and the postseason so going with Sanders at +650 seems like the best way to proceed.

Rookie Ready for the Big Stage

The Kansas City Chiefs tend to throw the ball at least 60% of the time, whether it is in the regular season or in the NFL playoffs.

There have been some suggestions that the Chiefs might pound the ball between the tackles more than they usually do and that could result in a bigger workload for rookie Isiah Pacheco. It will be tempting to lean that way when it comes to the Super Bowl running back props.

Pacheco had a total of 22 carries in the first two playoff games. He was at 14 rushing attempts over the last nine games in the regular season. That just happens to be a number that carries a price of +1000. That seems like a number worth going with.

Who Will Lead the Way?

Picking the player with the most rushing yards in the Super Bowl will not be an easy decision.

Philadelphia’s Sanders (even) has the best odds right now. Pacheco is an intriguing option as well as he comes in at +340.

The number that really jumps off the page is +1300 for Kenneth Gainwell.

Gainwell has looked like the most explosive running option as the season has moved forward.

He not only has more yards (160-132) in the two games, he is averaging 6.2 yards per carry (compared to Sanders’ 4.7). Gainwell has the higher number (18½ yards) when it comes to longest running play among the Philadelphia Eagles, according to the NFL betting line.

It’s not ideal that five offensive linemen have appeared on the Eagles’ injury report this week. Still, going with Gainwell to lead the way in rushing yards is a smart move.

Hurts Likely to Stay in the Pocket

A healthy Jalen Hurts would add a different dimension to this game. He was fourth among quarterbacks in rushing yards during the regular season and when looking at the NFL leaders, he led all QBs with 13 touchdown runs.

There are plays to be made down the field against a young set of cornerbacks for the Chiefs so it would make sense to limit the number of hits Hurts takes on his injured throwing shoulder. Expect the number of designed runs for Hurts to be on the lower side of the spectrum.

With that in mind, go with Hurts at -110 to finish under 59.5 rushing yards.

Joining the Party

Five Philadelphia Eagles have rushing attempts during the two NFL playoff games. One of them is quarterback Gardner Minshew. Barring any unforeseen circumstances, Minshew probably won’t be seeing the field on Sunday night.

The price is currently at +160 for more than 4.5 players to have at least one rushing attempt.

Perhaps a receiver could get into the act to join Hurts as well as running backs Sanders, Gainwell and Boston Scott. However,

Philadelphia receivers carried the ball four times on 544 rushing plays during the regular season and not at all during the two playoff games when Philadelphia ran the ball 88 times. Going under 4.5 doesn’t have much of a reward at -190. However, that seems like the more logical result.

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