The Houston Texans’ upset helped Las Vegas sportsbooks to a small winning day despite the fact that double-digit favorites went 4-1 ATS and favorites went 7-4 ATS overall.
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BetMGM and Caesars each reported a seven-figure loss, the SuperBook reported a six-figure loss and Station Casinos also reported a big losing day capped by the Packers’ 45-30 win and cover over the Bears on “Sunday Night Football.”
Circa sportsbook took sharp money on the Raiders-Cowboys and Bills-Saints games, and the South Point took sharp action on the Bears-Lions matchup.
In the first seven weeks of the season, there were only two outright upsets by underdogs of seven points or more. But there have been nine such upsets in the last four weeks.
Underdogs went 9-3 ATS with seven outright wins, including upsets by the Jaguars (+16) over the Bills and Broncos (+10) over the Cowboys.
There are six teams with odds of 10-1 or less to win the Super Bowl. The Bills are the clear betting favorites to win it all. But the NFC is a 2-point favorite over the AFC in the early Super Bowl line.
Bettors were all over the Raiders, who outlasted the Dolphins 31-28 in overtime as 3½-point favorites after squandering an 11-point fourth-quarter lead.
On the lookahead line at the Westgate SuperBook, which posts lines for NFL games 12 days in advance, the Raiders opened -1 over the Dolphins and that number has shot up to -4.
The Raiders are arguably the most surprising 2-0 team after traveling across the country on a short week and beating the Steelers 26-17 on Sunday as 5½-point underdogs.
One of the biggest challenges for bettors is to not overreact to what happens one week, especially in Week 1 of the NFL season.