If there’s a National Football League (NFL) betting trend emerging after Week 2, it’s this: bet against the Miami Dolphins, regardless of the spread, and back the Buffalo Bills – particularly the over, according to Bob Scucci, vice-president of Race and Sports Operations, Boyd Gaming Corp.
Josh Allen of the Buffalo Bills runs off the field after 36-31 win against the Houston Texans at NRG Stadium on Sept. 13 in Houston, Texas. (Image: Tim Warner/Getty Images)“Two of the biggest games so far this season have the Bills and the over, both in Week 1 and 2, and the Bills got there both times,” he said. “Bettors remember what teams made them money, and they’re going to keep riding them until they disappoint.”
Bettors Keep Riding Buffalo
The Bills opened their season beating the Texans in Houston 36-31, then followed that up with Thursday night’s (Sept. 17) big 41-31 home win over the Detroit Lions. Both games went over the total, and neither was particularly close.
The Bills play next Sunday (Sept. 27) at home against the 0-2 Los Angeles Chargers, with a 1 p.m. EDT kickoff.
We’ve already gotten money on the Bills against the Chargers, and of course the fact the Chargers lost to the Raiders yesterday (Sept. 20) 26-14 doesn’t help matters for people wanting to bet against the Bills,” Scucci explained. “So that’s all the more reason why we are seeing the money on the Bills. They’re going to be betting against the Dolphins every week, too.”
Raiders Liability Keeps Growing
Like other sportsbooks in Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming is taking on significant liability on the Las Vegas Raiders, coming off their big win in Los Angeles to go 2-0 on the season.
“I think the Raiders are probably overachieving and giving more than what most people expected,” the Boyd Gaming VP said. “There’s a lot of sentimental support in Las Vegas. They’re clearly our biggest liability on the futures-bet market to win the Super Bowl. People bet them at long odds for that. The first game (27-13 over Miami), people didn’t hold that into much account because it was the Dolphins, the worst team in the NFL. But still, they played pretty well.”
“But after yesterday’s game, they’re going to draw a lot more support because they were pretty good underdogs (against the Chargers),” Scucci added.
Week 2 Flips the Script for Sportsbooks
Bettors had plenty of momentum after favorites dominated Week 1, but Sunday (Sept. 20) tilted back in the sportsbooks’ favor behind a wave of upsets. Several heavily backed teams failed to win or cover the spread.
The biggest wins for Boyd were the Eagles failing to cover (24-20 over the Titans), the Saints winning outright as large underdogs (24-17 over the Ravens), and the Browns topping the Bucs (23-19). For bettors looking to recoup losses, the afternoon slate offered relief, with the 49ers handling the Dolphins (35-13), the Seahawks routing the Cardinals (31-7), and the Cowboys topping the Commanders (37-20).
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Christian Cipollini, senior trading manager at BetMGM, noted that heading into Sunday’s games, sportsbooks needed key underdog covers to offset a strong Week 1 for public bettors. Getting outcomes from the Browns, Saints, Titans, or Dolphins provided much-needed relief to the house.
In the end, Week 1 and Week 2 could hardly have been more different, said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook.
The book enjoyed a steady diet of low-scoring primetime games in Week 1, but Week 2 began with an all-you-can-eat touchdown buffet for bettors on Thursday night,” Feazel said. “Seven of the eight most popular touchdown scorers cashed, and the only player who failed to score, DJ Moore, was refunded under Injury Protection.”
The biggest game for bettors at Caesars Sportsbook was Lions-Bills, while the most favorable for the house was Vikings-Bears—a 9-3 defensive battle won by Minnesota.
Touchdown Parlays Pay Big
“Sunday early games brought a sharp reversal,” Feazel said. “Underdogs and defenses came out swinging, offenses went quiet, and touchdowns were much harder to locate. In Week 1, it felt like everyone with a jersey found the end zone. This Sunday, even the end zone required a reservation.”
Still, some bettors landed massive payouts on Thursday night. A $100 same-game parlay on Lions at Bills returned $50,000, hitting on first-touchdown and anytime-touchdown props for Josh Allen, Amon-Ra St. Brown, James Cook, Jahmyr Gibbs, Dalton Kincaid, and Sam LaPorta.
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