NFL betting: Bettors heavily backing Rams to cover spread against Bears
Bettors really, really, really like the Rams to easily beat the Bears in Week 1.
Los Angeles is favored by 7.5 points over Chicago on Sunday Night Football. And 88% of the money wagered on the point spread at BetMGM is on Los Angeles to cover the number. Seventy percent of tickets are on the Rams to cover the spread.
Moneyline bettors like the Rams too. Over 80% of the money on the moneyline is on the Rams (-350) to win straight up.
There’s clearly not much faith in the Bears and Andy Dalton. The former Bengals and Cowboys QB is starting for the Bears in Week 1 ahead of rookie QB Justin Fields. The Rams have a new QB too. LA obtained Matthew Stafford from the Lions over the offseason in exchange for Jared Goff and draft picks. Stafford has been a trendy MVP bet in his new and improved environment.
Bettors like the Jags
The Rams are the most overwhelming pick to cover the spread in Week 1. The second-most popular bet to cover is the Jacksonville Jaguars.
Perhaps those bets are faith in Urban Meyer and Trevor Lawrence in their first regular-season NFL games. Or perhaps those bets are simply fading a Texans team that has the worst roster in the NFL and is starting Tyrod Taylor at QB while apparently looking for a trading partner for Deshaun Watson.
Just over 70% of tickets are on the Jaguars to cover a three-point spread. Those tickets make up 77% of the handle. Eighty percent of moneyline tickets are on the Jags (-160) and those tickets make up three quarters of the moneyline handle.
Bettors also really like the favorites
The Colts opened as home favorites to the Seahawks and are now three-point underdogs. The Chargers were favored by a point against the Washington Football Team at the open and now are underdogs by one. The Packers opened as underdogs to the Saints and are now 3.5-point favorites. Every other team who opened as either an underdog or favorite has kept that status.
Bettors are also very bullish on all the teams that are now favorites. Every team currently favored has the majority of tickets and handle on point spread bets. There’s bound to be an underdog or three cover this weekend, though there’s clearly not a popular underdog pick so far.
Current Week 1 betting lines
Arizona Cardinals at Tennessee Titans (-3)
Jacksonville Jaguars (-3) at Houston Texans
Los Angeles Chargers at Washington Football Team (-1)
Minnesota Vikings (-3) at Cincinnati Bengals
New York Jets at Carolina Panthers (-4)
Philadelphia Eagles at Atlanta Falcons (-3.5)
Pittsburgh Steelers at Buffalo Bills (-6.5)
San Francisco 49ers (-7.5) at Detroit Lions
Seattle Seahawks (-3) at Indianapolis Colts
Cleveland Browns at Kansas City Chiefs (-6)
Miami Dolphins at New England Patriots (-3)
Denver Broncos (-3) at New York Giants
Green Bay Packers (-3.5) at New Orleans Saints
Chicago Bears at Los Angeles Rams (-7.5)
Baltimore Ravens (-4) at Las Vegas Raiders
