NFL Inception: Bettors’ Revenge
Players took it on the chin during the first half of football – now it’s payback time.
If there was a headline for the first half of the 2012-13 season, it would be that nothing was as it seemed for bettors. The Green Bay Packers and New England Patriots weren’t as good against the spread, while the Arizona Cardinals and Minnesota Vikings weren’t as bad. There were also replacement refs the first few weeks. All those things combined made winning tough on bettors.
While they appeared to turn the corner in Week 7, would they maintain in Week 8?
Unfortunately for us at the Bovada Sportsbook the answer is an emphatic yes.
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Looking at our top wagers for Week 8, the only win for us was the New Orleans Saints at the Denver Broncos. The Broncos were six-point favorites at home and bettors believed the Saints could hang with Denver on their home turf. Fifty-nine percent bet on the Saints to cover the spread while another 72% couldn’t resist the +200 moneyline. Peyton Manning and the Broncos’ defense was on fire that night, a 34-14 blowout was the final.
Things got much better. The most offside bet was the admittedly head scratching -7 line given to the New England Patriots, in London, England, versus the St. Louis Rams. We would expect the Rams to be +7 underdogs in St. Louis, so we’re not sure what Vegas was thinking by only giving them a touchdown in the UK. Bettors saw the line and pounced; 82% bet on the Pats ATS, while another 91% had no hesitation talking the pricey -340 moneyline. You could call the wagers won by the end of the second quarter. 45-7 was the final.
Source: sportsbook-ratings.net via Potsie on Pinterest
Next up for our biggest bets was the New York Giants versus the Dallas Cowboys. The Cowboys have been an inconsistent mess all season and Giants quarterback Eli Manning had won three straight in Cowboys Stadium; therefore we could understand why 74% took the Giants at -3 and another 68% bet them at -155. At first bettors probably believed the game was easy money, as Cowboys QB Tony Romo had four interceptions in the first half, but the ‘Boys settled down, and made a game of it. However a late, fourth-quarter field goal gave the Giants the 29-24 win and cover.
The road teams kept on rolling as bettors went after the Atlanta Falcons at +3 off a bye versus the Philadelphia Eagles. What made this wager risky is the Eagles were coming off a bye as well, and head coach Andy Reid is undefeated when given a week’s rest. Bettors could see the Eagles were a team on the brink, and they weren’t going to trust turnover prone QB Michael Vick to get the job done.
They were right. Vick was mediocre, while QB Matt Ryan and the Falcons were efficient. 30-17 was the final score. Sixty-one percent wagered the Falcons would cover, while another 67% took the over with no moneyline available.
If last week wasn’t an indication, it’s obvious now: bettors are making a comeback in the NFL’s second half, and we’ll see if they can keep it up in Week 9.
NFL odds and player props are up right now in the Bovada Sportsbook.
