NFL Bettors Expect Points Aplenty in Green Bay Packers-New Orleans Saints Showdown

Posted on: September 27, 2020, 09:17h. 

Last updated on: September 27, 2020, 09:30h.

Bill Huber Read More

Expertise: Sports Betting, Sports.

Bettors are expecting a shootout when two of the best quarterbacks of the era, and two of the Super Bowl favorites for this season, square off in a primetime showdown to cap the third Sunday of the NFL season.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers are 2-0 after a pair of high-scoring romps over the Minnesota Vikings and Detroit Lions. Green Bay, which wasn’t even the favorite to win the NFC North to open the season, has the fifth-shortest Super Bowl championship odds at DraftKings at +1,600.

Drew Brees and the New Orleans Saints are 1-1 after beating Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 1, but losing at the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday. With a veteran-laden roster, the Saints are +1,100 to win the Super Bowl, the third-shortest odds at DraftKings, and about where they were at the start of the season.

Saints By 3

Behind six touchdown passes by Rodgers, Green Bay is one of four teams in NFL history with 80-plus points (85) and 1,000-plus yards (1,010) in the first two games of the season. Brees, the NFL’s career leader in completion percentage, passing yards and passing touchdowns, is off to a relatively slow start.

Still, the Saints are a slight favorite.

Even though the Packers have put up a load of points on the board so far, and the Saints lost last week at Las Vegas, the Saints are 3-point favorites,” said Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, to Casino.org. “You see three points, that would be close to what the Saints would be for home field advantage under normal circumstances. With no fans in the stands, it’s probably more like 2.5. So, if it was on a neutral field, the Packers probably would be the favorite. The Packers have most of the money.”

At William Hill, the Packers are one of three underdogs getting most of the action from bettors. As of Friday, Green Bay had 82 percent of the tickets and 59 percent of the money. One of the other games was the Kansas City Chiefs against the Baltimore Ravens in a game-of-the-year style showdown on Monday night.

Expecting Points

The over/under has been inching upward from 51.5 to 53, which stands to reason. The total in Green Bay’s two games has averaged 70.0 points. The quarterbacks are legends, and the running backs are prolific, do-it-all threats. Green Bay’s Aaron Jones leads the NFL with 234 rushing yards and has scored three touchdowns. His counterpart, New Orleans’ Alvin Kamara, has scored at least two touchdowns in each of his last four games.

Pretty much every dollar is going on the over,” Avello told Casino.org. “When you look at these teams, you would think neither team’s probably going to stop each other, and you’re probably going to score in the 60s. It just looks like both teams can score at will.”

Both teams will be a bit shorthanded. Green Bay receiver Davante Adams, who leads the NFL in touchdown catches since 2016, is not expected to play, suffering with a hamstring injury. New Orleans receiver Michael Thomas, who leads the NFL in receptions since 2016, is out with an ankle injury.