The Best Defense and Special Teams Prop Bets for Super Bowl 53

College football coach Bear Bryant coined the phrase “defense wins championships.” The Los Angeles Rams and New England Patriots are both hoping that their defense will be up to the task at Super Bowl 53 in Atlanta. The Pats fared better in the regular season, limiting their opponents to the seventh-fewest points per game, while the Rams ranked 20th in that category. But which defense will help increase your bankroll with turnovers? I give my insight on where there’s value.

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The Rams Created the Third-Most Turnovers

Los Angeles may have surrendered 24.0 points per game – only 12 teams were worse – but it also created a lot of havoc for its opponents by generating turnovers. The Rams finished third in the league with 30 takeaways this season, including the third-most interceptions, three of which got returned for a TD.

They also had 14 forced fumbles, 12 of which were recovered to rank in a tie for fourth in the NFL. Offensively, LA ranked in a tie for 11th in giveaways at 19, with a dozen of them being interceptions from the hand of QB Jared Goff, which were tied for the ninth-most. In the playoffs, the Rams have just one takeaway, an interception off Drew Brees, and they also have committed only one turnover, in the form of a Goff interception throw.

Patriots Were a Top-10 Ranked Defense

New England allowed just 20.3 points per game this season for the No. 7 mark in the league while finishing in a tie for the fifth-most takeaways with 28. Of the takeaways, 18 were interceptions, tied for third-most with the Rams, and 10 were fumble recoveries, ranking 12th.

On the offensive side of the ball, the Pats tied for the seventh-fewest turnovers at 18, with Tom Brady tossing 11 interceptions, finishing in a tie for 15th in the league. In the playoffs, the Pats have created just one turnover thus far, when the Chargers’ Desmond King had a muffed punt recovered by New England. Meanwhile, Brady has thrown two picks, both against Kansas City.

My Best Defense/Special Teams Prop Picks

Total Punts in the Game – UNDER 7.5 (-135). Both teams are doing a tremendous job continuing drives in the postseason with New England clicking at 61 percent in third-down conversions, ranking first, while Los Angeles is converting on 41 percent of its third downs. Additionally, both teams have strong run games that will chew up the clock, leading to less time for punts.

Team to Record the First Turnover in the Game – New England Patriots Commit First Turnover (-110). Tom Brady threw 11 picks this season, the second-most for him since 2011, and he has thrown two in these playoffs. The Rams created the third-most interceptions this season and they like to get after the QB as Aaron Donald led the league in QB hits.

Total Tackles and Assists – Cory Littleton OVER 8.0 (-130). Littleton had 12 games, including the playoffs, in which he had eight or more combined tackles. The Pats don’t air the ball out that much, electing for shorter quicker passes to move the chains, and I think this approach will allow the linebacker to have ample opportunity to make tackles.

Here’s a look at the full list of defense/special team prop bets:

Will a Special Teams or Defensive TD be scored?

Yes +180
No -220