The National Football League brings the highest number of bets, and the most money for sportsbooks in the United States. Sportsbooks rely on the NFL to keep their businesses afloat, and the industry saw a significant number of bets in Week 1.
Each week a number of betting trends emerge for NFL wagering, allowing gamblers to better evaluate the week 2 games. Sportsbooks will of course see the same betting trends, but operators also have to take into account those that go contrarian from the norm.
There were just a few upsets in Week 1, but those underdogs helped sportsbooks have a successful weekend. Week one features a lot of unknown in the NFL, especially in a pandemic season, but teams have put something on paper after having a game under their belts.
Bills, Chiefs Big Favorites
One of the biggest favorites this weekend is the Chiefs, and bettors are all over the KC spread this weekend. Kansas City heads to Los Angeles to take on the Chargers, as L.A. christens the brand new SoFi Stadium.
At both William Hill and FanDuel, 96 percent of all bets were placed on Kansas City to cover the 8.5-point spread. These sportsbooks have also reported that 98 percent of all money wagered is on the defending Super Bowl champions as well.
Kansas City is 9-0-1 against the spread in their last 10 games, and bettors think that the trend will continue on Sunday. Both teams enter this game with a 1-0 record, but gamblers still like the Chiefs.
Another favorite, the Buffalo Bills, are also drawing plenty of action from sports bettors in their Week 2 matchup against the Miami Dolphins. Buffalo beat the Jets 27-17 in Week 1, while the Dolphins suffered a 21-11 loss to New England.
At FanDuel Sportsbook, 90 percent of all bets, and 92 percent of the money have been bet on the Buffalo Bills in this matchup. At William Hill, 91 percent of the tickets, and 95 percent of the money has been bet on the Buffalo Bills.
Money on Two Underdogs
There are a pair of underdogs that are receiving plenty of betting attention this weekend. The Minnesota Vikings and Jacksonville Jaguars are two teams that could end up costing sportsbooks some money with a win (or cover) in Week 2.
Minnesota is a three-point underdog against the Colts on Sunday, and they have received more than 85 percent of betting tickets and money wagered in that game.
Jacksonville opened up as a massive 11.5-point underdog against the Titans, but that line has shifted to just 7.5 after so much money has been wagered on the Jaguars. William Hill has seen 71 percent of the bets and 85 percent of the money bet on Jacksonville for Sunday’s game.
Rodgers Leading Packers to Points
The Packers made barely any changes this offseason, and experts predicted that the offense would struggle in 2020. That was not the case in the season opener as Green Bay scored 43 points in a road win against Minnesota.
Green Bay hosts Detroit in Week 2, and the Packers are 6.5-point favorites. Bettors believe that the Packers are for real, and they are laying some big money on Green Bay and on the spread.
89 percent of the bets and 88 percent of the money is on Rodgers and company to cover the spread on Sunday, and bettors are also hitting the over hard. The over/under has been moved all the way up to 49.5 points in this game, and over 92 percent of the bets are on the over.
