Broncos Country is on the outside looking in at another Super Bowl.
In fact, it was exactly six years ago Monday that the Orange and Blue last appeared on the Roman Numeral stage.
The Denver Broncos, though, haven’t played in as much as a wild-card game since that 24-10 domination of the Carolina Panthers.
But, ironically, the Broncos player who shined the brightest on that 2016 evening in Santa Clara, Calif., is back in the Super spotlight.
Super Bowl 50 Most Valuable Player Von Miller will suit up for the Los Angeles Rams on Sunday in Super Bowl LVI.
The Broncos’ all-time sacks leader now calls L.A. home after a November trade sent him west in exchange for pair of high-round draft picks.
And even though Miller has traded in his familiar No. 58 for No. 40, the No. 2-overall pick in the 2011 draft always be a player near and dear to hearts in Broncos Country. That’s what 110.5 sacks, 26 forced fumbles and one Lombardi Trophy over a decade of defensive dominance can do for a player’s legacy.
More than a few die-hard Denver fans will be rooting for Miller on Sunday against the Cincinnati Bengals. And many of those same fans will be indulging in some Colorado Super Bowl wagering.
With that in mind, here are some intriguing Miller-centric Super Bowl proposition bets — culled from the expansive menus of five of the top Colorado online sportsbooks — for Broncos Country to consider.
All listed bets and stated odds are as of Monday afternoon, so shop around and check back frequently for the latest numbers.
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Super Bowl MVP
Quarterbacks have won 31 of the 55 Super Bowl MVP awards.
That’s certainly baked into the current numbers as the Rams’ Matthew Stafford and the Bengals’ Joe Burrow are the only players with odds greater than -600 at the five surveyed sportsbooks.
Miller, though, has garnered the most recent of the nine Big Game MVP awards won by defensive players.
And on the Super Bowl LVI MVP odds board, he trails only Rams teammate Aaron Donald among the defensive players listed.
As of Monday among Play Colorado’s top five-rated in-state online sportsbooks, Miller’s MVP odds ranged from (50-1 at BetMGM Colorado and Betfred Colorado) to +3000 (BetRivers Colorado).
Those were the eighth through 10th-best MVP odds on all five boards.
First sack
There are a number of “first” props on the Big Game boards.
And odds on which player will bag the game’s first sack Sunday were found at DraftKings Colorado and BetRivers as of Monday.
The most favorable number was posted by DK at +400. That ranked second behind only Donald’s +350.
Any sack
Miller has totaled seven sacks in 11 games since debuting with the Rams in Week 10.
That total includes a pair of QB takedowns in L.A.’s three playoff wins en route to the NFC title.
In seven postseason games with the Broncos from 2011-15, Miller bagged 6.5 sacks. Included in that total are his MVP-earning 2.5 sacks in Super Bowl 50.
For Sunday’s contest, Miller’s has yes/no or over/under odds on getting at least one sack posted on four of the five sportsbooks.
The most favorable of those four numbers was found at DraftKings, which had the “yes” priced at -150. Note, though, that the DK number entails Miller getting a solo sack and not sharing a half sack.
Most sacks
As for the player with the most sacks in Super Bowl LVI, I only found odds posted at BetRivers.
Those odds had Miller and Donald tied atop the board at +325.
Donald, a defensive tackle, has totaled 14 sacks in 20 games this season, including 1.5 in the three playoff contests.
Fellow L.A. defender Leonard Floyd was third at +500 among the 22 players included in the BetRivers prop.
Defensive end Trey Hendrickson was the highest Bengals player, listed fourth at +600. Hendrickson is pacing Cincy with 16.5 sacks in 19 games.
And while Hendrickson’s numbers are impressive, the safest bet is to go with a Rams player. The Bengals surrendered 55 sacks in 17 regular season games — the third most in the league.
Twelve more sacks, including a whopping nine in the divisional-round win over the Tennessee Titans, have followed for Cincinnati in the postseason.
Total tackles
Miler’s over/under for total tackles (solo stops plus assists) is posted at all of the surveyed sportsbooks aside from Betfred.
It’s set at 4.5, with the under favored at -136 or lower at all four. The best odds on Miller going over were at BetMGM and Caesar’s Colorado Sportsbook, both at +120.
For the season with the Rams, Miller totaled 43 combined tackles in 11 games — an average of 3.9 per outing. He finished under the 4.5 in six of those games.
Interception
As of Monday, BetMGM had the lone Miller anytime interception prop posted of the five sportsbooks.
His odds are +1000.
That’s not especially good value considering Miller has logged only three interceptions in 160 career games.
Anytime touchdown
Miller is not listed by any of the five books with individual anytime TD odds for Sunday.
Rather, he is lumped in the other Rams player or Rams defensive/special teams player categories. A wager at BetMGM would return the most for a Miller Super Bowl TD at +500.
On Caesar’s, he is listed at +1200 to score the Rams’ first touchdown.
In his career, Miller has scored a pair of TDs — finding the end zone on a 26-yard interception return in 2012 and a 60-yard fumble return the following season.
