Best Super Bowl LVIII player prop bets for Chiefs-49ers you can place right now

Super Bowl LVIII is a rematch of Super Bowl LIV as the Kansas City Chiefs take on the San Francisco 49ers. This time though, the result might be different. The 49ers still boast a tremendous defense, with cornerstones Nick Bosa and Fred Warner leading the charge. However, their offense has taken a tremendous step forward since 2020. Gone is Jimmy Garoppolo, replaced by Brock Purdy, arguably the most divisive quarterback in the NFL. Gone is Emmanuel Sanders, replaced by second-team All-Pro Brandon Aiyuk. Gone is Joe Staley, replaced by future Hall of Famer Trent Williams. And of course, you can't overlook Christian McCaffrey.

The Chiefs, meanwhile, may have lost Tyreek Hill, but upgraded several spots on their offensive line. Their defense is also much better than what it was four years ago. Chris Jones, L'Jarius Sneed, and Nick Bolton headline one of the best units in the NFL, the first time the Chiefs have had a top-ten defense since 2015, before Mahomes was drafted.

Although most NFL fans would have preferred the Baltimore Ravens against the Detroit Lions, this matchup should provide another classic that will either confirm the Chiefs' dynasty or have a Mr. Irrelevant hoist the Lombardi Trophy. Here are our favorite player prop bets with less than two weeks to go until the game. Odds via BetMGM.

Best Super Bowl LVIII player prop bets

Rashee Rice OVER 6.5 receptions (-105)

The Kansas City Chiefs only really have two solid options in their passing attack: Travis Kelce and Rashee Rice. While Travis Kelce may have been the star in the AFC Championship against Baltimore, Rice still quietly put up eight receptions. Whether it's quick screens to the outside, slants, or just someone that Mahomes can trust to come down with the ball, Rice is the man for the job.

Rice has recorded seven or more receptions in six of the Chiefs' last nine games. Even better, the Chiefs game plan against San Francisco will likely be very similar to their plan against Baltimore -- control time of possession, take short yardage gains, keep Lamar Jackson and the Ravens' offense off the field. With that strategy, Mahomes looked often to his guys in short yardage situations. Rice had eight receptions, but only for 46 yards.

In any situation – either the Chiefs are winning and trying to hold on, or the 49ers are winning and the Chiefs need to come back – Rice should be the recipient of several targets from Mahomes.

Brock Purdy OVER 12.5 rushing yards (-115)

Brock Prudy is fresh off a 48-yard rushing performance in the NFC championship game against Detroit. Some of the most pivotal plays in the game were made with his legs, but Purdy is not a mobile quarterback. He is not someone who can consistently make big plays with his legs. That's why this line feels like a trap. Given everything we just saw, all signs point to Purdy being able to get at least 13 yards on the ground, right? Actually, yeah.

While a normal person might look at Purdy's game-changing rushing plays and think the Chiefs will try to limit his impact on the ground, the Chiefs likely realize that Purdy averages over 21 rushing yards per game when the 49ers lose. Purdy only ever really takes off when his team is down, and that's what the Chiefs want. With more than a week to prepare for the Super Bowl, Chiefs head coach Andy Reid should put together a master class coming out the gate. Reid is notoriously one of the best head coaches ever when coming off a bye.

If the Chiefs get the lead early, then Purdy will be in a position to run the ball more often, and that's good for anyone looking for the over on Purdy rushing yards.

Christian McCaffrey Super Bowl MVP (+450)

As talented as Brock Purdy is, Christian McCaffrey is more likely to have a big day on the ground than Purdy is to dominate through the air. If the 49ers win the game, McCaffrey will likely have at least one touchdown on the day, potentially two or three, and more than 100 total yards.

The Chiefs have been a great rushing defense all season, but McCaffrey can do damage through the air as well. Given that the odds for Purdy (+220) and Mahomes (+125) are so high, McCaffrey seems like a steal as the obvious third option.

Sure, a running back hasn't won Super Bowl MVP since 1998, but McCaffrey is more than a running back. He's arguably the most talented running back to play in the Super Bowl since Marshawn Lynch, and you can bet Kyle Shanahan will hand McCaffrey the ball in crunch time should the game come down to it.

Nick Bolton OVER 8.5 tackles + assists (-140)

The payout on this bet is not that much, but that's because this is very likely to hit. Bolton has recorded double-digit tackles in three of the Chiefs' last four games. The only game Bolton didn't reach this figure was the conference championship against Baltimore, and that was because of two factors.

For one, the Chiefs' gameplan was to control the clock. Kansas City had the ball for over 37 minutes in that game. Baltimore didn't exactly have time to run a bunch of plays and thusly give Bolton an opportunity to rack up tackles. Second, because Baltimore didn't have much time to run plays, they didn't run the ball very much. Baltimore's running backs, Gus Edwards and Justice Hill, received only six carries the whole game. Regardless of the 49ers' time of possession in the Super Bowl, you can bet Christian McCaffrey will get more carries than that.

Brock Purdy OVER 0.5 interceptions

In the playoffs, Brock Purdy has looked...shaky. The former MVP favorite was great during the regular season at avoiding interception-worthy throws, but in the playoffs, the opposite has been true. We've all been witness to the dropped interceptions and poor throws. Whether it is Green Bay's Darnell Savage dropping an easy pick-six or Detroit's Kindle Vildor allowing a pass to bounce off his helmet, Purdy's luck has to run out at some point.

Even with luck on his side, Purdy still tossed an interception against Detroit. Now he faces a Kansas City defense that is not only great at getting pressure (27.8% pressure rate, 2nd in NFL) but is also starting to turn that pressure into interceptions. Despite only recording eight INTs during the regular season, they've had at least one interception in two of their three playoff games.

Some advice on novelty props

If player props are not your cup of tea, there are always novelty props to bet on as well. These are obviously much tougher to predict but there are some that have some historic data to look at.

Gatorade bath color

Three of the past five Super Bowl winners have dumped blue Gatorade on their coaches. However, those two times it hasn't been blue have both been Chiefs Super Bowl victories. Based on that knowledge, there's already a 50 percent chance the Gatorade won't be blue. Blue currently has the second-highest odds, per BetMGM, at +275. Only purple (+225), has better odds. Purple was the color of the Gatorade when the Chiefs won the Super Bowl a season ago.

Despite purple and blue being the most popular bets, the most popular color since 2000 has been orange. When the Chiefs won the Super Bowl in 2020, they dumped orange Gatorade on head coach Andy Reid, making five instances where orange Gatorade has been dumped on the winning head coach this century. Given the prominence of orange Gatorade in recent years and the Chiefs having already dumped orange Gatorade on their head coach, orange (+500) seems like a great bet.

Coin Toss

Tails never fails. That's the saying, and it's been rather profitable for people looking to bet on the Super Bowl coin toss.

Seven of the last ten Super Bowl coin tosses have landed tails. Even historically, tails has been the favorite, landing in 30 of the 57 all-time Super Bowls. Tails has also shown potential for going on streaks. There have been three separate instances where tails has hit four consecutive years.

Of course, none of this has any effect on this year's coin toss. In fact, while tails has had more stretches of dominance, heads has the longest all-time streak with five consecutive hits between Super Bowls 43 and 47. The toss is still a 50-50 shot, but historically, tails has been superior.

Gannett may earn revenue from sports betting operators for audience referrals to betting services. Sports betting operators have no influence over nor are any such revenues in any way dependent on or linked to the newsrooms or news coverage. Terms apply, see operator site for Terms and Conditions. If you or someone you know has a gambling problem, help is available. Call the National Council on Problem Gambling 24/7 at 1-800-GAMBLER (NJ, OH), 1-800-522-4700 (CO), 1-800-BETS-OFF (IA), 1-800-9-WITH-IT (IN). Must be 21 or older to gamble. Sports betting and gambling are not legal in all locations. Be sure to comply with laws applicable where you reside.

NFL 2024 mock draft: Five QBs taken in top 12 picks? Prepare for a first-round frenzy.

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Best Super Bowl 2024 prop bets for players on 49ers, Chiefs