NFL, CFB Weekend Betting Recap: 'It Was An Extremely Rough Week For Bettors'

After a big Week 1 for the public betting masses, the pendulum sharply swung back in the NFL Week 2 odds market.

Popular favorites came up big in Week 1 and contrastingly small in Week 2. So the bookmakers beat the bettors, particularly on Sunday.

"It was an extremely rough week for the bettors, with five upsets and only seven favorites covering the spread," BetMGM trading manager Adair Horne said Sunday night.

Oddsmakers from Las Vegas and across the country chimed in to recap the weekend that was in NFL and college football betting.

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In Week 1, the first wave of Sunday games was a massive boon for bettors. Favorites went wild, there were several high-scoring games, and many big-name players found the end zone, cashing a slew of First Touchdown/Anytime Touchdown props.

In Week 2, not so much. 

Most notably, the Ravens were 8.5-point home favorites vs. the Saints and lost outright 24-17. Then, in a game with a two-hour weather delay in order to play the final two minutes, the Buccaneers — another 8.5-point home favorite — tumbled to the Browns 24-19.

Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel, who after Week 1 declared the public was popping champagne corks, said those two results set the tone for oddsmakers to do some cork-popping.

"The Ravens had the book chilling the sparkling water. The Buccaneers’ defeat finally popped the cork," Feazel said. "The Eagles, Ravens, Bears and Bucs were the most popular moneyline parlay selections, so the book needed at least one significant interruption to the bettors’ Sunday plans.

"The book will typically survive the early slate if a touchdown-or-bigger underdog wins outright. We were handed three opportunities to find one."

They got two with the Browns and Saints, and the Titans fell just short of stunning the Eagles. Philadelphia needed a touchdown with nine seconds left to claim a 24-20 victory, though it didn’t cover as a 7-point favorite.

The Browns’ win was particularly satisfying at Caesars.

"Anytime Cleveland is playing, the entire trading floor becomes Browns fans. We’re honorary members of the Dawg Pound," Feazel said half-jokingly. "So when that result came through after a long weather delay, there was certainly some excitement in the room."

Horne said BetMGM also thrived off upsets, both early and late. In Sunday’s early window, along with the Browns and Bucs, the Vikings (+4.5) upset the Bears in a 9-3 slog of a game, and the Bengals (+2.5) took out the Texans, 20-6.

In one of the five late-window games Sunday, the Raiders were 6.5-point road underdogs vs. the Chargers and landed a 26-14 upset. That helped blow up any moneyline parlays that might’ve survived the early kicks.

But the public masses also got smacked by a scoring drought. 

The Under went 9-2 in the first 11 completed games on Sunday. The Over hit in the final three games, but that wasn’t nearly enough to save bettors’ day.

"The best games for the books were basically low-scoring games where the favorite lost outright or didn’t cover the spread," Horne said. "Vikings vs. Bears, Eagles vs. Titans, Bengals vs. Texans and Raiders vs. Chargers."

Added Feazel: "Underdogs and defenses came out swinging, offenses went quiet, and touchdowns were much harder to locate. In Week 1, it felt like everyone with a jersey found the end zone.

"This Sunday, the end zone required a reservation."

The masses managed to claw a little back in the few games where favorites won and covered, and/or there was some scoring.

Thursday night, for example: Bills 41, Lions 31, with Buffalo a 5.5-point home favorite and a 54.5 total, the highest so far in this young season. That was after Week 1 prime-time games saw the Under go 3-1.

"The book enjoyed a steady diet of low-scoring prime-time games in Week 1," Feazel said. "But Week 2 began with an all-you-can-eat touchdown buffet for bettors on Thursday night.

"Seven of the eight most popular touchdown scorers cashed."

Bills wideout D.J. Moore was the eighth, and he might’ve scored if not for exiting with a shoulder injury late in the first half.

Said Horne: "The best games for betters were Lions vs. Bills, Commanders vs. Cowboys, Dolphins vs. 49ers and Seahawks vs. Cardinals."

Dallas, a 4.5-point home favorite, rolled over Washington 37-20 in a game that cleared the 51.5 total. San Francisco smacked Miami 35-13, covering as a 12.5-point favorite, and Over 45.5 came in, as well.

Seattle was a 4.5-point road favorite vs. Arizona and rolled 31-7, though that result fell short of the 41 total.

"Overall, it was [still] a great week for the book and a tough one for bettors," Horne said.

The public didn’t quite get what It needed out of college football Week 3 odds, either, particularly BetMGM customers, and especially in the Game of the Day, LSU vs. Ole Miss.

The Tigers were 3-point road favorites and lost outright 32-24.

"The book had a really solid day, particularly the live [in-game] book," BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee said. "A lot of action came in on LSU when it was down in the first half. We needed Ole Miss outright and got there."

No. 9 Texas A&M laying a huge egg vs. Kentucky also boosted the bookmakers. The Aggies were 17-point home favorites and trailed 28-7 late in the third quarter, en route to a 31-21 loss.

"A&M going down outright was also a huge game for our in-play book," Magee said.

The wild North Carolina State-Vanderbilt ending wasn’t a notable decision for BetMGM. Still, you had to feel sick for N.C. State moneyline bettors and, perhaps more so, N.C State +3 bettors.

With seven seconds left, the underdog Wolfpack led 31-28 while facing fourth-and-7 from their own 5-yard line. Coach Dave Doeren decided to try to have QB Cayden Daniels run out the clock while taking a safety on the game’s final play.

But shockingly, Daniels fumbled as he was tackled in the end zone. Vandy recovered with no time left and won 35-31.

N.C. State not only didn’t finish off the modest moneyline upset, but didn’t cover as a 3-point ‘dog either. An absolute double-whammy of epic proportions, and arguably the bad beat of the season.