NFL Week 3 betting: 5 biggest storylines including a big Thursday night favorite

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/nfl-week-3-betting-5-biggest-storylines-including-a-big-thursday-night-favorite-143715260.html

Bettors had a nice Week 2.

Going into the week, BetMGM had its eye on four key games. The favorite teams for bettors on Sunday were the Eagles, Cowboys, Bills and Lions. The Eagles, Bills and Lions covered the spread. While the Cowboys didn’t cover, a wild comeback win over the Giants in overtime wasn’t great for the sportsbooks either. The books needed an upset to break up moneyline parlays, and the Giants couldn’t deliver despite leading in the final minute of regulation.

Here are the betting storylines for Week 3 in the NFL, with all odds from BetMGM:

Another double digit spread

The NFL didn’t choose well for its Thursday night game in Week 3. The Miami Dolphins, at 0-2 with a horrendous defense, travel to face the Buffalo Bills. The spread is Bills -12.5 at BetMGM, and that seems fair given how good the Bills have been and how bad the Dolphins have been. The only other double digit spread early this season has been the Ravens, who were 12.5-point favorites against the Browns in Week 2. The Ravens won 41-17, comfortably covering the spread.

Buffalo Bills quarterback Josh Allen (17) and his team are 2-0 after a blowout win over the Jets. (AP Photo/Adam Hunger)

(ASSOCIATED PRESS)

Battle of the backup QBs

There are a lot of quarterback injuries around the NFL for it being so early in the season, and in one game we get two backups squaring off. The Bengals with Jake Browning will take on the Vikings with Carson Wentz. There isn’t a ton of faith in Browning and the Bengals, as the Vikings open as a 3-point favorite with a quarterback on his sixth team in six seasons, who didn’t sign until Aug. 24. The Vikings were 1.5-point favorites on the lookahead line.

Lot of respect for Ravens

One of the bigger spreads of Week 3 is in one of the better matchups of the week. The Lions went 15-2 last season, put up 52 points in a Week 2 win over the Bears but still find themselves as 6-point road underdogs to the Baltimore Ravens on Monday night. That indicates the Ravens would be a small favorite if the game was in Detroit. The Ravens were also small favorites on the road against the Bills, though they lost that game in memorable fashion. Even though the Ravens had a terrible loss in Week 1, oddsmakers still believe in them. Baltimore has the second-lowest Super Bowl odds (+550) behind the Bills.

Scoring returns in Week 2

In Week 1, unders were the play. The under hit in 12 of 16 games. That seemed odd, considering the new kickoff rules had a huge effect on more returns.

It corrected in Week 2. In Sunday’s early and late afternoon windows, overs went 10-2. The Thursday night and Sunday night went under, as did both games of the Monday night doubleheader. For casual bettors who like taking overs in prime-time games, it might not seem like overs bounced back. But some huge scoring games, like the Cowboys’ 40-37 overtime win over the Giants or the Lions winning 52-21 over the Bears, helped scoring rebound on the whole.

Cowboys an underdog to 0-2 Bears

The Bears have had major issues through two weeks. They struggled on offense after a good start in Week 1 and allowed J.J. McCarthy to lead a big Vikings comeback win in the fourth quarter. In Week 2 they allowed 52 points. They earned their 0-2 record. And they’re still favored over the Cowboys.

It’s a small favorite for the Bears, who are -1 at home. But it speaks to the issues the Cowboys have had, especially on defense in Week 2, that a winless team that has allowed 73 points in its last five quarters of action is favored to beat them at all.

https://sports.yahoo.com/nfl/article/nfl-week-3-betting-5-biggest-storylines-including-a-big-thursday-night-favorite-143715260.html