Reg Season Win Totals
Gambling is about identifying investment opportunities. Historically football takes center stage during the middle of sweltering desert summers when individual spreads, win totals, and other unique prop offerings are made available. That’s no longer the case, playing the waiting game as this past weekend marked a major gambling “holiday” when the LVH unveiled their full slate of regular season win totals while another large Vegas operator, Cantor Gaming, released point spreads for every NFL game from Week 2 through Week 16. Roger Goodell can ignore gambling all he wants including the impact pointspreads have on the league’s overall popularity but you won’t ever hear a sportsbook operator downplay the value of football to the health of his business.
The full list of openers as they appeared on the betting board yesterday is included below. There’s no surprise that the reigning conference champions, Broncos and Seahawks, are the pace setters with win totals at 11. San Francisco, New England, and Green Bay are the other trio of franchises to have a win total listed in double digits.
CARDINALS 7.5 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
FALCONS 8.0 OVER -130 UNDER +110
RAVENS 8.5 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
BILLS 6.5 OVER -130 UNDER +110
PANTHERS 8.0 OVER -130 UNDER +110
BEARS 8.0 OVER -140 UNDER +120
BENGALS 9.0 OVER -135 UNDER +115
BROWNS 6.5 OVER -150 UNDER +130
COWBOYS 8.0 OVER -110 UNDER -110
BRONCOS 11.0 OVER -140 UNDER +120
LIONS 8.0 OVER -150 UNDER +130
PACKERS 10.0 OVER -145 UNDER +125
TEXANS 7.5 OVER -145 UNDER +125
COLTS 9.5 OVER +130 UNDER -150
JAGUARS 4.5 OVER -150 UNDER +130
CHIEFS 8.0 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
DOLPHINS 8.0 OVER +110 UNDER -130
VIKINGS 6.0 OVER +105 UNDER -125
PATRIOTS 10.5 OVER -135 UNDER +115
SAINTS 9.5 OVER -150 UNDER +130
GIANTS 7.5 OVER -135 UNDER +115
JETS 7.0 OVER -125 UNDER +105
RAIDERS 5.0 OVER +130 UNDER -150
EAGLES 9.0 OVER +115 UNDER -135
STEELERS 8.5 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
CHARGERS 8.0 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
49ERS 10.5 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
SEAHAWKS 11.0 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
RAMS 7.5 OVER -110 UNDER -110
BUCS 7.0 OVER -120 UNDER EVEN
TITANS 7.0 OVER -130 UNDER +110
REDSKINS 7.5 OVER +125 UNDER -145
For the second straight season Jacksonville and Oakland have the dubious distinction of being lowest on the win total totem pole. Jacksonville’s total of 4.5 comes with heavy juice attached to the over if bettors are willing to invest in the Jags potential to go 5-11. Oddsmakers clearly didn’t see Matt Schaub as the franchise saving QB in Oakland either given a Raider win total opener of 5 for the 2nd straight season.
When it comes to league wide parity, the logjam of 16 teams with win totals posted at 7, 7.5, or 8 speaks volumes. Those unfamiliar with the lessons gleaned from reviewing win totals need to keep in mind a win total doesn’t just reflect an overall power profile for a team but also the overall strength of schedule.
Win totals provide great topics for discussion and can yield outstanding betting opportunities if handled correctly. I think it’s worth mentioning that tying up funds for 7+ months is a delicate proposition to those with limited bankrolls. Make sure you feel the edge is substantial knowing a $1 in your hand today is a hell of a lot more valuable than a $1 in your hand come January…even if it is from a winning ticket.
