NFL Betting: Undefeated Bet Options Collide when Saints Host Dolphins
by Bovada Sportsbook Staff | Sept. 30, 2013
The Miami Dolphins may have beaten some NFL odds to get to 3-0 in the first place, but don’t think that means they won’t be asked to do it all over again on Monday night lined up against Drew Brees and the also-undefeated New Orleans Saints.
For Brees and company, successfully working themselves back into routine with head coach Sean Payton back at the helm, the Monday Night Football matchup gives the franchise an opportunity to thrive under the national spotlight.
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It wasn’t long ago when the Saints were a mainstay atop the NFL futures and now their odds of winning the Super Bowl XLVIII become particularly more intriguing. It may seem like football started yesterday, but we’ve already hit the quarter-mark of the 2013 campaign.
Over the course of the four weeks (well, three for New Orleans and Miami) that have passed, we’ve seen some contenders contend and some heavyweights fail. Alas, while teams like the 49ers and Giants struggle to live up to their own expectations, clubs like the Saints and Dolphins will be busy chasing down the NFL elite.
Joining Miami and New Orleans as undefeated early season NFL betting options are the Patriots, Broncos, Chiefs and Seahawks.
When this year’s Saints play host to the Dolphins at the Superdome in New Orleans, they’ll do so as 7-point favorites on the NFL spread. Between Brees and star tight end Jimmy Graham, it’s hard not to see why.
On the other end of the field, however, is a Miami team tired of toiling in mediocrity. It’s been over four years since the Dolphins last topped .500 over the course of the season and now, with quarterback Ryan Tannehill performing admirably under center, it looks to once again be an option.
Would a victory over the Saints push the Dolphins from the middle of the long-term football betting pack up to the top? They currently hold 30/1 odds of winning the Super Bowl but would stand to benefit greatly from unseating a team like New Orleans, at home, with the world watching.
Hitching one’s bandwagon on a relatively unproven group of Dolphins may not be a text book NFL wagering strategy, but stranger things have happened on the gridiron.
The Saints, in contrast, thanks largely to their reputation from before the Bountygate scandal that stripped their 2012 campaign of any relevance, have 15/1 odds on those same NFL futures.
The Broncos (3/1), Seahawks (9/2), Patriots (12/1) and Chiefs (28/1) with whom the Saints and Dolphins share unbeaten success also linger as bet options worth consideration.
Betting on the NFL’s cream of the crop comes with its pros and cons. On one hand, a team that wins consistently early on is a formidable club no matter which way you want to look at it, but on the other, it’s quite likely that this will be the most hyped up they’ll be. With world class-expectations come world class-odds and, as a result, lower payouts for anybody interested in pursuing them in the sportsbook.
In the case of Week 4’s Monday Night Football matchup, betting on an underdog like Miami is especially interesting. If – and it’s a big if, considering the Saints are both playing at home and favored by a full touchdown – the Fins manage to push themselves to a win, speculative bettors can say goodbye to the 30/1 line that’s currently available.
What, you thought they could take down a legitimate title contender while the entire country tunes in and still come out as an underdog? Nobody said learning how to bet on football was simple.
