Week 8 NFL Betting Recap
For a second straight week in the NFL, favorites cashed big for bettors. Here’s a quick recap of how things broke in the NFL.
Favorites vs. Underdogs
Of the 12 games played thus far in Week 8, eight of the favorites covered for bettors. Granted, that figure is dependent on bettors having the Saints at -7.5 against the Bears. According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, New Orleans was -7.5 at kickoff, but that line danced between 7.5 and 9.5 throughout the week. We’re counting the Saints as covering, but some bettors may have had a different number. Underdogs are still cashing at a 54% clip this year, but that number has dropped over the past two weeks. Following Week 6 in the NFL, underdogs were covering at a nearly 59-percent rate. Favorites have ruled the day recently.
Overs vs. Unders
Six overs cashed on Sunday and with the Dolphins-Ravens matchup also going over the total on Thursday night, seven overs hit in the 12 games played this weekend. One over that did not hit was in the Pittsburgh-Detroit Sunday night matchup. The Steelers and Lions were both in the red zone all night but couldn’t convert. Detroit alone had to settle for five field goals in its 20-15 loss to Pittsburgh.
Washington is the gift that keeps on giving for some bettors
One gift for over bettors occurred in the Dallas-Washington game, which was going under until Kirk Cousins threw a pick-six in the waning seconds of the game. That’s twice this season that the Redskins were involved in a last-second touchdown that pushed the score over the total. The other incident occurred on a Monday night in Kansas City a few weeks back, when Chiefs linebacker Justin Houston picked up a fumble and returned for a touchdown on the final play of the game.
Biggest Upset
Only one underdog won outright on Sunday and that was the Panthers, who were a mere 1.5-point underdog versus the Bucs in Tampa. Carolina beat Tampa Bay 17-3, as neither team couldn’t drum up much offense. The majority of public bettors were also on the Panthers, so this qualifies as an “upset” only by virtue of the Bucs being favored. The Colts, Jets and Texans all covered as underdogs, but none covered. Houston was close, as it took a last-minute Seattle touchdown to give the Seahawks a victory in the most entertaining game of the day.