NFL Week 7 Betting Recap at Bodog
by Richard Gardner | Bodog Sportsbook Manager - 10/27/2010
What a difference a play can make. When Pittsburgh quarterback Ben Roethlisberger fumbled at the goal line in Miami on Sunday it meant the biggest win of the morning for Bodog's Online Sportsbook. Even though the Steelers went on win the game, 23-22, on a field goal (after a rather controversial instant replay decision, to say the least), it still meant the Dolphins covered the +3 spread. If Big Ben had scored a touchdown, the Steelers would've covered and most of our players would've been happy.
The Dolphins weren't the only big underdog to make money for the book on Sunday. When the Oakland Raiders (+7) hammered the Denver Broncos, 59-14, in one of the shock results of the season (shocking not so much because Oakland won, but by how much it won), the players took another big hit.
Not that the players didn't have their own victories in Week 7. The Kansas City Chiefs (-9) received huge betting support before trouncing Jacksonville, 42-20. In fact, that was the most one-sidedly bet NFL game of the week in terms of percentage of handle.
Another game that went the players' way was the Patriots-Chargers showdown in San Diego, won by New England (+3) by a score of 23-20. Talk about a frustrating game for our bookmakers to watch. The Chargers gained 363 total yards to the Pats' 179 but turned the ball over four times on the way to another loss. Kris Brown's 50-yard field goal that hit the right upright with only seconds remaining was just the icing on the cake. No, wait, the icing on the cake was the false start penalty the Chargers took to make the kick a 50-yard attempt.
With Week 7 in the rear-view mirror, it will be interesting to see how bettors approach a couple of teams in Week 8 of the NFL.
Let's start with the Oakland Raiders, who as mentioned are coming off a huge win in Denver. I'll be very curious to see how bettors respond to the massacring of the Broncos. The Raiders host Seattle this week and we've got the home side favored by 3. Most of the early action has been on the Seahawks, who find themselves atop the NFC West with a 4-2 record, though you won't find many people who consider them a particularly good team. I suppose the same could be said for the Raiders despite two wins in their last three.
And then there are the New Orleans Saints, who we thought had turned the corner with a Week 6 blowout of Tampa Bay. Nope, the Saints lost at home to Cleveland last week and have to host the Steelers on Sunday night. We've currently got Pittsburgh as a 1-point favorite, and that's a line that I think will tempt a lot of Steelers backers.
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