Sports betting: Of course there are point spreads out for NFL Week 1 already
The Eagles opened as 9.5-point favorites for their Week 1 opener in Washington. The line quickly went down to 6.
Shortly after the schedule went out, the point spreads went up. Now that’s normalcy.
PointsBet USA, an online sportsbook with a license in New Jersey, opened the Eagles as 9.5-point favorites over the Redskins for Week 1 before quickly dropping the line down to 6. Westgate Superbook in Vegas, opened the Birds as 6.5-point favorites.
The Eagles have won six in a row over the Redskins, covering five of those games in that span. The exception was last year’s opener in Philadelphia. This is the third time in four years the Birds’ first game is against Washington.
“We think the Eagles are in for another solid season,” PointsBet director of communications Pat Eichner said, “while the lack of a normal NFL offseason, coaching changes and a young roster could have the Redskins off to a slow start.”
The Eagles are 4-0 straight-up in season openers under Doug Pederson, 3-1 against the spread. The Redskins are coached by Ron Rivera, who is in his first season at Washington.
Lines for all 16 Eagles games likely will come out throughout the night. Westgate, in fact, opened the Eagles as 4.5-point favorites over the visiting Rams in Week 2.
NFC East odds
It appears as though it’s going to be a two-team race in the NFC East again, and the sportsbooks are giving the early edge to Dallas.
The Westgate Superbook in Las Vegas opened the Cowboys on Thursday as even-money favorites to win the division. The Eagles’ odds are 5-4. The Giants are 10-1. Washington is the dark horse of the division at 18-1.
Simply, to win $100 on the Cowboys to win the NFC, a bettor would need to bet $100. To win $100 on the Eagles, the bet would need to be $80.
Eagles prices at some local spots are slightly better. To win $100 on the Eagles to win the division at DraftKings, a bettor would put up $71. At William Hill, it’s $74; at FanDuel, $77.
Westgate also posted win totals for each NFL team. The Eagles’ line is 9.5 wins, which is the consensus. Dallas is 10; the Giants, 6.5; Washington, 5.5. The Saints and 49ers are tops in the NFC at 10.5, while the Chiefs and Ravens are at 11.5 in the AFC.
William Hill has the Eagles at 17-1 to win the Super Bowl. Dallas is 12-1. Defending champ Kansas City is favored at 4-1, followed by Baltimore (13-2), San Francisco (7-1), New Orleans (11-1), and Dallas (12-1).