2024 NFL Week 1 betting recap: Lions win 'pretty much swung the day'
Oftentimes, an NFL Sunday comes down to the final game to determine who wins the weekend: Bookmakers or bettors.
That was most definitely the case with NFL Week 1 odds.
Multiple sportsbooks reported having a back-and-forth day, so everything was riding on the Los Angeles Rams vs. Detroit Lions showdown. And the public betting masses were all over the host Lions, who won 26-20 in overtime.
Chase Michaelson, risk supervisor for The SuperBook, succinctly summed up the result.
"Not good. That pretty much swung the day," Michaelson said.
Oddsmakers from Las Vegas and across the country help recap the weekend that was in NFL and college football betting.
Bettors Get Final Word
The public took an immediate beating in Sunday’s early window when the New England Patriots shocked the Cincinnati Bengals.
More on that later.
But bettors worked their way back up the ladder during Sunday’s late games, particularly Dallas’ victory over Cleveland. And the Lions’ OT victory capped the run. Detroit closed as a 5.5-point favorite, so a touchdown on the first drive of the extra period covered the spread.
And the Lions were the final piece of countless moneyline parlays, too.
"Any time you have the [late] favorites do well, and the Cowboys as a public underdog, the book is gonna be rooting for the 'dog on Sunday night," Michaelson said.
Prime Sportsbook operates in Ohio and New Jersey, and is known for taking sharp action. Prime executive chairman Joe Brennan Jr. knew there was trouble as the Rams-Lions game kicked off.
"We’re breaking out the hard stuff to get us through this Rams-Lions game," Brennan jokingly said. "We have three times more spread money on Detroit and two times more spread tickets on Detroit. And the sharps are on Detroit. So yes, we’re Rams fans tonight."
Which ultimately didn’t work out well behind the counter. But the Lions’ win generally made it a winning day for bettors.
Bengals Bungle
Cincinnati was amped up to welcome back QB Joe Burrow, who missed the final seven weeks of last season with a wrist injury. But the Bengals, 7.5-point home favorites, managed just one TD and a field goal — both in the second half — and stunningly lost to New England 16-10.
At that moment — before the late games — it was shaping up to be a rough day for bettors.
"For sure, the Patriots killed everybody’s parlays," BetMGM trader Christian Cippolini said. "We had a few good results [early], and the Patriots was obviously very good."
Added South Point sportsbook director: "A lot of wiseguys were on the Patriots. But the public was all over Cincinnati, including in parlays and moneyline parlays."
Ride ‘Em Cowboys
After countless Bengals tickets were torn up, the Dallas Cowboys-Cleveland Browns tilt was pivotal for bettors to regain ground. Cleveland saw sharp play while ultimately closing as a 2-point home favorite.
But plenty of public action landed on the short underdog Cowboys, on both the point spread and the moneyline.
Dallas rolled to a 33-17 victory.
After a good early Sunday window for the books, oddsmakers had to turn around and dole back cash to the customers.
"We basically won the early slate and lost it back to the later games," BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said.
Dak Prescott, Cowboys dominate Deshaun Watson, Browns
Hail To The Chiefs Bettors — And Eagles, Too
The Thursday night game between the Baltimore Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs, and Friday’s Green Bay Packers-Philadelphia Eagles matchup in Sao Paulo, Brazil, were both extremely well-bet games to kick off the NFL season.
Interestingly, South Point sportsbook in Vegas took two of the larger bets on the Ravens-Chiefs contest. One customer put $220,000 on Ravens +3, but just before kickoff, another big bettor countered with a $110,000 bet on Chiefs -2.5.
"After that bet, we wound up needing the ‘dog Baltimore," Andrews said. "There was a lot of small stuff on the favorite."
Kansas City ultimately held on for a 27-20 victory after a final-seconds Baltimore TD was overturned on review. So the bettor with the $110,000 play pocketed a $100,000 win ($210,000 total payout).
On Friday night, South Point again saw some big plays. One bettor put $110,000 on Packers +2.5, and another put $55,000 on Over 49 for the total. Green Bay lost 34-29, squelching the Packers bet, but the wager on Over 49 easily got there for a $50,000 win ($105,000 total payout).
Brennan said the Eagles’ win and cover was a particularly tough result.
"That was a bloodbath for Prime Sportsbook. We got beat on both pregame and live betting, though most of the damage was on the pregame moneyline and spread. But we lost on everything for the game," Brennan said.
On Campus
The college football Week 2 odds market turned out better than NFL Week 1 for BetMGM Nevada. As reported Saturday night, Notre Dame’s shocking 16-14 upset loss to Northern Illinois proved a boon behind the counter.
But there were other key decisions too.
"Saturday was a solid day. We won several big decisions, including Penn State not covering vs. Bowling Green," Shelton said.
The eighth-ranked Nittany Lions were 34-point home favorites and squeaked out a 34-27 home victory.
Despite Ole Miss being ranked No. 5 in the country, Shelton said plenty of bettors took 43.5-point underdog Middle Tennessee. So the Rebels’ 52-3 victory was another good result for the book.
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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