New England Patriots fans had a chance to back their team as five-point favourite for Sunday’s season-opener in Buffalo.
But before they got the chance to get their money down, EJ Manuel hurt his knee and the line ballooned to 12 points last week. Now, with the rookie quarterback expected to play, the line has settled in at 9.5 at most places, with a smattering of -11 at shops monitored by OddsShark.com.
“Such is the nature of early season wagering, where line movement has a bigger impact on your decisions than off-season player movement,” said Mike Pickett of OddsShark.com.
Bills coach Doug Marrone announced Wednesday that Manuel will start Sunday in a one-sentence release issued by the team before practice. He returned to practice last Sunday, when he was limited to working in individual drills.
He then practised fully on Monday. He’ll have his hands full, as the Patriots lead the league with a nine-year win streak in season-openers.
They have also demoralized the Bills more than any other team, winning 18 of 19 meetings and rolling to an 8-1 straight up, 7-1-1 against the spread mark in their past nine trips to Buffalo.
The season kicks off Thursday night in Denver, where the defending Super Bowl champion Baltimore Ravens visit the Broncos, and the bettors have backed the champs.
With revenge on the Broncos’ minds, the game being in the Mile High City and the Ravens’ depleted defence, the line opened anywhere from Denver -8.5 or -9 back in July. However, virtually everywhere in Las Vegas and online, the line is sitting at 7.5.
The Ravens beat Denver, 38-35, in double overtime on Jan. 12, in an AFC divisional playoff en route to their championship run. Since 2008, the Ravens are tied with the Patriots for the most wins (63) in the NFL, and they’ve won their last five openers, second in the league to New England.
In other significant line moves for Sunday’s openers, the Detroit Lions have gone from a 2.5-point choice to a 5-point chalk over NFC north-rival Minnesota. The Vikings have covered the last four meetings and are on a 6-2 ATS streak in Motown.
The Indianapolis Colts opened -7 against the visiting Oakland Raiders, and are now -10. Indy closed the 2012 campaign on a 6-0 ATS streak at home.
Kansas City and Jacksonville Jaguars went from a pick (or even odds), to the visiting Chiefs laying -4. The Jags have covered 12 of their last 14 season openers and they are 8-1 ATS when they open at home.
The week’s marquee matchup is a possible NFC title game preview in San Francisco, where the 49ers were 4.5-point chalk against visiting Green Bay. The OddsShark.com computer predicts a close game, but many observers feel the 49ers will win easily here.
See the latest Week 1 lines here at Sportsnet.ca.