ODDSMAKERS FACTOR IN MIXED HOME FIELD RESULTS AHEAD OF NFL’S WEEK 2, ACCORDING TO THELINES.COM
With the NFL’s unusual opening week now in the books, oddsmakers have significantly more data to set their Week 2 lines. Along with the usual Week 1 uncertainty, the NFL’s first week brought unique questions that apply only to the 2020 season, according to TheLines, which tracks odds in U.S. regulated sports betting markets.
Among the most prominent unknowns was how playing in stadiums with few or no fans would affect the home field advantage. Well, Sunday’s games brought mixed results. Home teams went 7-6 straight up on Sunday, and the underdog Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers came away with impressive road wins over the San Francisco 49ers and Minnesota Vikings, respectively.
“The first week always brings surprises, but before Sunday there was no real precedent for how playing in near-empty stadiums would affect game results,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “As we enter Week 2 of the NFL season, oddsmakers are now able to better factor the altered dynamics brought on by the pandemic and we will start seeing that baked into this week’s lines.”
A consensus of that nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including FanDuel, DraftKings, PointsBet, SugarHouse, and BetMGM — have the Tennessee Titans as a consensus 10.5-point favorite over the Jacksonville Jaguars, the largest spread of the Week 2.
After their impressive opening game win, the defending champion Kansas City Chiefs open Week 2 a consensus 8.5-point road favorite over the Los Angeles Chargers. Speaking of a lack of home-field advantage data, the Las Vegas Raiders open Week 2 as 4.5-point home underdogs in their Monday Night game against the New Orleans Saints, which will mark the first ever game played in the Raiders new home in the Nevada desert.
The consensus point spreads, as of Sept. 14, for the Week 2 slate:
- Cincinnati Bengals at Cleveland Browns (-7.5); over/under 45.5
- Atlanta Falcons at Dallas Cowboys (-6.5); over/under 50.5
- Buffalo Bills (-5.5) at Miami Dolphins; over/under 42
- Carolina Panthers at Tampa Bay Buccaneers (-7.5); over/under 48
- Denver Broncos at Pittsburgh Steelers (-6); over/under 43
- Detroit Lions at Green Bay Packers (-5.5); over/under 47.5
- Jacksonville Jaguars at Tennessee Titans (-10.5); over/under 43
- Los Angeles Rams at Philadelphia Eagles (-3); over/under 48.5
- Minnesota Vikings at Indianapolis Colts (-3); over/under 47.5
- New York Giants at Chicago Bears (-5.5); over/under 43
- San Francisco 49ers (-7) at New York Jets; over/under 43.5
- Washington Football Team at Arizona Cardinals (-6.5); over/under 46
- Baltimore Ravens (-6.5) at Houston Texans; over/under 52.5
- Kansas City Chiefs (-8.5) at Los Angeles Chargers; over/under 50.5
- New England Patriots at Seattle Seahawks (-4); over/under 44
- New Orleans Saints at Las Vegas Raiders (-4.5) Saints -4.5; over/under 50
To access the updated futures lines for every NFL team, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/super-bowl. To access Week 2 odds, visit www.thelines.com/nfl-week-2-lines-2020.
