Super Bowl LV is approaching quickly. The Kansas City Chiefs will look to defend last year’s championship against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers this Sunday in a game that is forecast to be a fight down to the wire. This is the first time that any NFL team has played in a Super Bowl in its home stadium, something that happened by sheer coincidence this year, and the Bucs are counting on six-time Super Bowl winner Tom Brady to help them make history. Despite going into the game as 3-point underdogs, the Bucs are ready to put on a show and sports gamblers may have a place to park some gambling money on a “sure thing,” thanks to Brady.

The quarterback won all of his Super Bowl rings with the New England Patriots, having been with the team from 2000 to 2019. He appeared in nine Super Bowls during that time and has a distinctive, perhaps intentional and methodical, approach to the game. In all nine games, he never led the Pats out of the gate quickly, with the opponents winning the first quarter each time. 

In eight Super Bowl appearances, Brady and the Pats were held to zero in the first quarter; only in one, Super Bowl LII against the Philadelphia Eagles, did they get on the board, but that was limited to a field goal. BetMGM has taken notice, giving a first-quarter line to the Bucs of +0.5 points and an Over/Under of 10.5. Based on Brady’s history, taking the Chiefs to dominate the first quarter and going for the Under is a better bettor’s option.

That isn’t to say that the Bucs are going to lose the Super Bowl, even though they’re +3, as Brady is an accomplished veteran who knows how to make big plays. However, only looking at first-quarter stats, the Bucs have been slow this year. They rank 13 in points for the quarter, according to TeamRankings, at 5.5 points, with the Chiefs in a three-way tie for tenth place at 5.6 points. BetMGM boosted the odds for the Bucs in the Big Game after the first, with the Over/Under listed as 16.5 points, 10.5 points and 14.5 points for each consecutive quarter.