What will the first score of Super Bowl 56 be? Oddsmakers believe a passing touchdown.
The matchup for Super Bowl 56 from SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles on Feb. 13 is set: The AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals against the NFC champion Los Angeles Rams, who will become the second straight team to play in a Super Bowl in its own stadium after it had never happened previously. The Bucs won Super Bowl 55 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa.
However, the Rams actually will be the visiting team for SB 56 simply as it’s the AFC’s turn to be home. Thus, L.A. will have to use the visiting locker room instead of its own. The Rams will call the opening coin toss and per usual both heads and tails are priced the same (-105).
Cincinnati might be the most unexpected Super Bowl team ever as the Bengals totaled just six wins the previous two seasons combined and were +12500 entering the season to win a championship. Coach Zac Taylor was an early-season favorite to be the first coach fired. He was formerly an offensive assistant under Rams coach Sean McVay.
The Bengals look for their first-ever Super Bowl title, while the Rams look for their second but first as the Los Angeles Rams and not the St. Louis version.
Let’s break down the odds for the first score of Super Bowl 56.
Field Goal Might Be Smart Bet
The Rams are 4-point favorites for the game and a Los Angeles passing touchdown is the +225 favorite as the first score. It’s the first Super Bowl appearance for Rams quarterback and likely future Hall of Famer Matthew Stafford, who threw a career-high 41 TD passes in the regular season and has thrown two in each game of these playoffs.
In the Wild-Card Round vs. Arizona, the first score was a Stafford TD pass to Odell Beckham Jr. In the Divisional Round vs. Tampa Bay, it was a Matt Gay 26-yard field goal. Rams field goal being the first score in Super Bowl 56 is a +400 third favorite. In the NFC title game vs. the 49ers, the first score was a Stafford 16-yard pass to Cooper Kupp.
Super Bowl 56 will be the second all-time matchup of starting QBs who were chosen No. 1 overall in the draft with Stafford to Detroit at that spot in 2009 and Joe Burrow to Cincinnati in 2020.
A Cincinnati passing TD is the second favorite for the first score at +275. The Bengals didn’t score first in the Wild-Card Round vs. the Raiders or in the AFC title game shocker of the Chiefs. In the Divisional Round win over the Titans, an Evan McPherson 38-yard field goal was the first score. A Cincinnati field goal is +450 as the Super Bowl’s first score.
That it’s a rushing TD is +600 for both the Rams and Bengals. A defensive or special teams touchdown is +2500 for Los Angeles and +3300 for Cincinnati. A safety is +4000 for both teams.
A field goal has been the first score in the past four Super Bowls.
