NFL Week 1 betting: Bettors ride Raiders, favorites to winning day
Welcome to the new NFL season. Same as the old season.
Money line favorites, which cashed at a better than 70 percent clip last season, went 10-2 on Sunday to help bettors deal sportsbooks a rare losing day.
The Raiders were the only underdogs to win outright during the morning and afternoon games, beating the Patriots 20-13 as 2½-point underdogs.
“Like the last eight to 10 weeks last year, we really needed a money line ’dog to win, which didn’t happen,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “The one ’dog that did win was the Raiders, but that’s the one ’dog that’s backed heavily by our guests.
“It looks like overall it will probably be a losing day.”
The Bills stunned the Ravens 41-40 as 1½-point home underdogs on “Sunday Night Football,” scoring 16 unanswered points in the final four minutes. But bettors won on the total at STN Sports.
“We really needed it under,” Esposito said.
Caesars Sportsbook also reported a losing day before the shootout.
“Overall, Week 1 resulted in a modest win for customers,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said. “The 2025 season has picked up right where 2024 left off, with favorites continuing their strong run.”
The betting public would’ve won more if not for 11 of 13 games going under the total. The lowest total on the board, 38 for Steelers-Jets, was the only other one that went over in Pittsburgh’s 34-32 win behind Aaron Rodgers’ four touchdown passes.
“This helped shift the outcome from what could have been a tremendous start for customers to an above-average opening Sunday,” Mucklow said.
Browns bail out Bengals
Favorites went 7-5 against the spread (Falcons-Buccaneers closed at pick’em). The Steelers (-3) were one of three favorites who won but didn’t cover. The others were the Bengals, who escaped with a 17-16 win over the Browns as 5-point favorites; and Broncos, who beat the Titans 20-12 as 9-point favorites.
It didn’t take long for a Caesars bettor to lose a $200,000 wager on the Jets at +448 on the live money line during their final drive. They took over at their own 31 trailing 34-32 with 56 seconds left and turned it over on downs four plays later.
Sportsbooks won on Cleveland’s cover, despite a Caesars bettor winning a $237,000 wager on the Browns +4½. But Cleveland bailed out Cincinnati money line bettors (and 1,231 Circa Survivor contestants) thanks in large part to kicker Andre Szmyt, who missed an extra point in the third quarter and potential go-ahead 36-yard field goal with 2:22 remaining.
“If Cleveland had won, it would’ve knocked out those money line parlays before we got to the afternoon games,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “It just kind of reminded me of last season. A lot of times last season, we got off to a good start with the 10 a.m. games and the afternoon games didn’t go our way.
“The afternoon was pretty ugly, to be honest.”
Buffalo’s comeback resulted in a big swing at the Westgate.
“It should turn us into a decent winner for the day,” Murray said.
Best games for books, bettors
Besides the Browns and Bills, the best games for the books were the Colts (-1, beat Dolphins 33-8), Commanders (-6, beat Giants 21-6), Jets and Titans covering.
Denver was in position to kick a 53-yard field goal for a possible cover with 1:05 left but instead went for it on fourth-and-8 and turned it over on downs for the second straight possession.
The best games for bettors were the Rams (-3, beat Texans 14-9), 49ers (-2½, beat Seahawks 17-13), Cardinals (-5½, beat Saints 20-13) and Buccaneers (beat Falcons 23-20).
The Rams escaped with a win and cover after recovering a Houston fumble at their own 24 with 1:51 left.
Cardinals bettors had to sweat out the final seconds as Spencer Rattler threw three straight incompletions from the Arizona 18.
The Niners held on for a narrow victory after Brock Purdy hit third-string tight end Jake Tonges with a deflected 4-yard pass for a go-ahead touchdown with 1:34 left. Sam Darnold then drove Seattle to the San Francisco 8 before Nick Bosa strip-sacked him with 42 seconds left to seal it.
Tampa Bay escaped with a 23-20 win over Atlanta after Baker Mayfield hit Emeka Egbuka with a go-ahead 25-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds left. The Falcons were in position to tie it and all but cash bets on the over (47½) before Younghoe Koo missed a 44-yard field goal with six seconds left.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.