Not since the Trojan War of the 12th century BC has an Achilles been so talked about, but here we are. The NFL season kicked off with an exciting slate of games, but the pecking order of the league — or certainly the AFC — changed in just four snaps on Monday Night Football when Aaron Rodgers went to the ground. That stunning season-ending injury immediately became the talk of the week and it quickly had betting ramifications. Let’s just say the Jets lines all popped up like a Prince Street Pizza dining experience.
With all that in mind, let’s quickly look back at the past week in sports and peek at what’s ahead on the STN Sports App and at the Station Casinos Race and Sports Books…
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Rodgers That
The Aaron Rodgers New York experiment ended after just four snaps due to a torn Achilles tendon. As soon as the four-time MVP went out like an MGM computer system, money poured in on the Buffalo Bills. “We saw a lot of early action on the Bills, and then we saw a lot of money line play going into the game on the Jets,” said Chuck Esposito, Station Casinos’ Race and Sports Book Director. The perfect outcome would have been a one or two-point Bills win, as there were “multiple” five-figure wagers on the Jets money line.
“We did extremely well in the second half of the game. We took a lot of Bills money in the second half since Rodgers was out and the fact that the Jets were really struggling offensively in that first half. Keeping the game under 44 was big, too,” the oddsmakers said. Although the Jets came back to win in overtime, the game was overshadowed by the Rodgers injury. His absence under center will be felt for the rest of the season. The Jets future book odds doubled after the injury, making them now 12th in the NFL pecking order and behind fellow AFC teams like the Chiefs, Browns, Dolphins, and even the Jaguars.
Had Rodgers been playing this Sunday against Dallas, the Cowboys would have been 3.5-point favorites. Without him, the ‘Boys are now nearly double-digit favorites. “Some of these upper-echelon guys are worth at least a touchdown each,” Esposito said. “Zach Wilson, although he wasn’t great last year, they still won eight games last year with him. He was still the second overall pick in the draft a couple years ago, so it’s not maybe catastrophic.”
Wild Week 1
While some of the games went the way of the casino, a few others went for the guests. The Raiders’ win at Denver and the Eagles’ cover at New England had the House on the run like a Pennsylvania prison escapee.
“The Eagles game was by far our biggest decision of the day. It was really one of those games where it was clearly pros vs. Joe’s, where the sharp guys were on the Patriots and the public was on the Eagles,” Esposito said. The Raiders, meanwhile, traveled to Denver as small underdogs, and guests sided heavily with the Silver and Black. “Our guests are definitely biased in betting the Raiders, and having them win on the moneyline hurt us. The Cowboys win was also a good one for the guests and not great for our side of the counter.”
Still, overall there was “incredible” action on the NFL slate, as there were “so many” bets in the $30,000 to $50,000 range, Esposito noted. He continued, “Pro football started off great, having the Lions upset the Chiefs on Thursday night and have that game stay under was a huge way to kick off the season. That Lions/Chiefs game really kind of laid the groundwork for the weekend.”
Week 2 Lookahead
With one week in the books, guests are already getting an early jump on Week 2 lines, and they seem to be fading teams with significant injuries. Early money was dumped in on the Cowboys, who host the Rodgers-less Jets, and the Titans, who host the Chargers. Los Angeles’s star running back, Austin Ekeler, suffered an ankle injury, so he could be more unavailable than DirecTV’s CBS channel. There’s also been very clear early betting on the Packers, who go on the road to take on the Falcons. There’s an expectation that the Thursday night game will have one of the bigger handles of the weekend, as will the Dolphins/Patriots game on Sunday night.
“Considering how good the Dolphins looked in Week 1, we’re probably going to need the Patriots,” Esposito said. “If the Dolphins win, they’ll have two road wins and still have all their home games. That would also mean the Patriots are 0-2. With the Jets’ situation at quarterback, I think it really bodes well for the Dolphins. This Dolphins team is built to win this year.”
Schooling Them
The Colorado Buffaloes continue to be the biggest story in college football, and they’re expected to roll again this week as big, big favorites at home against Colorado State. Last Saturday’s easy win against Nebraska was a “really bad” outcome, STN’s oddsmaker said. In fact, the Books might have had a worse Saturday than Ed Sheeran ticket holders. Guests pummeled the Book by betting on several high-profile teams who covered, including Notre Dame, Southern California and Oregon.
“The only one that really went our way was a Texas beating Alabama outright. That was our best game of the day,” Esposito said. “The other ones were all poor outcomes for us. We were just kind of a small winner for the day.” The biggest storyline of the Week 3 slate might center around the Oregon and Colorado games. Since both teams are massive favorites, it seems likely that their Week 4 matchup in Eugene, Oregon, will feature undefeated teams. The early indication is that the Ducks will be at least a two-touchdown favorite in that game, but things can certainly change. Coincidentally, a lot of people called Buff’s coach Deion Sanders a quack for his handling of the team in the offseason.
Bets To Know
Just because pro football kicked off already doesn’t mean season-long futures all over! Look in the STN Sports App for bets like divisional, conference, and league winners updated all season long.
Weekly Winners
It wouldn’t be pro football season without a huge parlay to kick it off! 8 legs, $10 won this bettor $2,990.
-RAMS -185
-SEAHAWKS UN 45 -110
-EAGLES -3.5 -110
-EAGLES OV 44 -110
-RAIDERS +140
-BRONCOS UN 43 -110
-DOLPHINS +135
-DOLPHINS OV 50 -120 B(+.5)