The Commodores’ classic tune “Easy (Like Sunday Morning)” could be the theme song for NFL bettors this season. At least judging from this NFL week 7 betting recap.
That’s because favorites have been easy money for bettors in the early window games, which start at 10 a.m. Sunday on the West Coast. Continuing the trend from last week and before, they’re 34-17 against the spread and have gone .500 or better ATS all seven weeks, according to Evan Abrams of the Action Network.
The betting public swept the board in the early window games Sunday as favorites went 7-0 ATS. That figure includes the Rams (-3), who routed the Jaguars 35-7 in London in the 6:30 a.m. PT game, and the Panthers, who closed as one-point favorites over the Jets at multiple sportsbooks before they beat the Jets 13-6. New York, the league’s only winless team at 0-7, also closed as a slight favorite at some books while the line closed at pick’em at other shops.
The other favorites that cashed tickets in the early games were the Patriots (-6.5, beat Titans 31-13), Chiefs (-13, beat Raiders 31-0), Browns (-2.5, beat Dolphins 31-6), Bears (-3.5, beat Saints 26-14), and Eagles (-2.5, beat Vikings 28-22).
“With the worst five teams in the league (Raiders, Dolphins, Titans, Jets, and Saints) losing a combined 132-39, the morning started perfectly for customers with every favorite winning and covering the spread,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “Opposing the bad teams in recent years has proven to be a tried and trusted formula, and the perfect storm of all five playing the 10 a.m. slate was beneficial to the customers.”
Favorites went 8-5 ATS in our NFL Week 7 betting recap entering the “Monday Night Football” doubleheader of Lions-Buccaneers and Seahawks-Texans.
Overs’ Time in Overtime
Overs went 8-5, going 4-0 in the late window of games Sunday afternoon to boost the betting public’s bankroll.
The Cowboys and Commanders flew over the biggest total of the season, which closed at 55, as Dallas whipped Washington 44-22.
The Browns and Dolphins went over the lowest total of the season, which closed at 34.5. But the game is a good reminder of the importance of getting the best number, as the total opened at 41.5 and was still available at 37.5 on Thursday amid reports of rainy and windy weather for Sunday’s game in Cleveland.
Giant Meltdown
Any bettor who cashed a ticket on the Broncos or had them in a Survivor contest might want to buy a lottery ticket after sweating out a historic comeback win over the Giants, who suffered an epic collapse.
New York, which covered as an 8.5-point underdog in a 33-32 loss at Denver, led 19-0 at the start of the fourth quarter and was still ahead 26-8 with 5:14 to play when it appeared all Broncos bettors were doomed. That included 440 contestants in the $1,000-entry Circa Survivor contest in Las Vegas that pays $18.7 million to the winner and one contestant in the $100,000-entry Circa Grandissimo Survivor contest that pays $6.9 million to the winner.
NFL teams had won 1,602 straight games when leading by 18 points in the final six minutes of a game. But the Broncos beat the odds by scoring on their final five drives for 33 fourth-quarter points, which tied the mark for the second-highest-scoring quarter in NFL history.
After Denver took a 30-26 lead on Bo Nix’s 18-yard touchdown run with 1:51 left, Giants rookie quarterback Jaxson Dart delivered a one-yard touchdown run of his own as New York reclaimed a 32-30 edge with 37 seconds left. But Jude McAtamney missed his second extra point to allow the Broncos to win with a field goal and enough time to do it.
“I knew they left too much time on the clock,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray told the Review-Journal. “When they scored a touchdown with 37 seconds left, I said to my risk guys, ‘OK, there’s going to be OT.’ Then the guy missed the extra point and I said, ‘All right, we’re going to lose.'”
Nix completed passes of 29 yards to Marvin Mims and 22 yards to Courtland Sutton to set up Will Lutz’s game-winning 39-yard field goal.
Packers Clip Cards
The Cardinals also covered as seven-point underdogs in a disappointing 27-23 loss to the Packers. Arizona didn’t trail the entire game until Josh Jacobs scored on a one-yard run with 1:50 left to give Green Bay its first lead at 27-23. The Cardinals then turned it over on downs at the Packers’ 27 with 13 seconds left.
The Colts upset the Chargers 38-24 as 2.5-point road underdogs to run their league-leading record to 6-1.
The Bengals kicked off our NFL Week 7 betting recap with an outright 33-31 upset of the Steelers on “Thursday Night Football” as Joe Flacco threw for 342 yards and three touchdowns, and the game sailed over the total of 45.