Seattle Seahawks’ Goal-Line Stand Helps Sportsbook Salvage NFL Week 2 Action

Posted on: September 21, 2020, 09:47h. 

Last updated on: September 21, 2020, 10:56h.

Bill Huber Read More

Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

Bettors love the Kansas City Chiefs, and for good reason. The defending Super Bowl champions had gone 9-0-1 against the spread in their last 10 games.

So, even with the line up to -8.5 for Sunday’s AFC West game against the Los Angeles Chargers, 90 percent of the spread tickets and money at PointsBet were on the Chiefs.

In a battle of major Week 1 disappointments, the Indianapolis Colts were 3-point favorites over the Minnesota Vikings at PointsBet. The Vikings attracted 69 percent of the bets on the spread and 90 percent of the handle on the moneyline.

The Chiefs won, but they needed a field goal in overtime to do it, so they failed to cover. And the Colts crushed the Vikings.

Those big wins for PointsBet weren’t indicative of the rest of Sunday’s NFL Week 2 action.

Bad Day for the Books

Week 1 was a good one for sportsbooks. Week 2 was a different story.

You know what? It wasn’t,” said Andrew Mannino, the senior sports content analyst at PointsBet, to Casino.org. “We lost badly on Arizona, Dallas, Tennessee, and Baltimore. The Chiefs saved us, getting into overtime. But we were still down badly on the day as a whole until ‘Sunday Night Football’ and that goal-line stop by the Seahawks. That really saved the day for us and turned it into a decent one.”

Here was the day at PointsBet:

• The Arizona Cardinals were 7-point favorites over the Washington Football Team, with 90 percent of the spread money coming in on the Cards. Arizona rolled to a 30-15 win. Saving the day was the fact that more than 80 percent of the spread money took the over of 46.5 points.
• The Dallas Cowboys were 3-point favorites against the Atlanta Falcons, with 77 percent of the spread money placed on the Cowboys. Atlanta led 20-0 in the first quarter and 39-24 midway through the fourth quarter, but lost 40-39. While the Cowboys failed to cover, the 79-point total obliterated the heavily bet over/under of 54.
• The Tennessee Titans were 7-point favorites against the Jacksonville Jaguars. While the Jags got bet early, 58 percent of the spread money at kickoff had been placed on the Titans. Tennessee failed to cover, winning 33-30, but almost two-thirds of the money went on the over of the 44.5-point total.
• The Baltimore Ravens were 7-point favorites against the Houston Texans, with 75 percent of the spread money on the Ravens. Baltimore won big, 33-16.
• The Green Bay Packers were 6.5-point favorites against the Detroit Lions, with 75 percent of the spread money coming on Green Bay. The Packers spotted Detroit a 14-3 lead, but rolled to a 42-21 victory. Making matters worse, more than 90 percent of the money went on the over of 50.5.
• The San Francisco 49ers were seven-point favorites against the New York Jets, with 69 percent of the spread money on the Niners. San Francisco won 31-13 to easily cover. Moreover, a late touchdown by the Jets pushed it past the total of 41.5. More than three-quarters of the money was placed on the over.
• Sunday closed with the Seattle Seahawks holding off the New England Patriots 35-30, when Pats quarterback Cam Newton was stuffed on a goal-line run as time expired. While 71 percent of bets took the Seahawks to cover, 70 percent of the money was on the Patriots’ side of the 4.5-point ledger.

New Favorite to Win Super Bowl

The Chiefs opened the season as the Super Bowl favorite. Not anymore. The Ravens are +475 to win the championship, with the Chiefs just back at +500. The New Orleans Saints, which play the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday night, are +900 and the Seahawks are +1,200.

They’re both obviously extremely good teams,” Mannino said of the Chiefs and Ravens. “The Chiefs didn’t look quite as dominant as they did against the Texans, and the Ravens put on another clinic. I expect those teams to be cofavorites throughout the year, with maybe some minor adjustments back and forth.”

While San Francisco bounced back from last week’s loss to Arizona, injuries are concerning. Standout defensive end Nick Bosa sustained a season-ending knee injury, and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo, running back Raheem Mostert, and defensive lineman Soloman Thomas could miss time as well. The Niners opened the season as the top Super Bowl choice in the NFC at +1,000, but are now +1,400.

We just saw an injury move the line last week with the Broncos when Von Miller went down,” Mannino told Casino.org. “Those kind of high-end studs, of which I think Bosa certainly is on the defensive line, can really have an impact on a team.

“With the 49ers, there’s some wait-and-see as far as how lasting those impacts are and how they can look after the fact from a team perspective. Obviously, they looked solid yesterday. But they were playing the Jets, so we’ll see what they do against a bit tougher competition. It’s a tough loss for a team that looked poised to take the next step.”