NFL odds: Monday Night Football matchups feature a pair of home underdogs
The Redskins and 49ers will be hosting the two games that make up the Week 1 Monday Night Football doubleheader, but neither are set as the betting favorites at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com.
Instead, the Steelers and Rams are both listed as three-point road favorites at Washington and San Francisco, respectively.
The odds are a bit more surprising in the late matchup, considering the quarterback situation in Los Angeles. The Rams will be starting journeyman Case Keenum over rookie Jared Goff, the No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL draft.
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Keenum was not overly impressive in winning the starting job this summer, but he did look better than Goff or Sean Mannion, who is listed as the No. 2 quarterback on the depth chart.
Meanwhile, the 49ers have a quarterback controversy of their own between Blaine Gabbert and Colin Kaepernick, with the former earning the job over the latter. Much like Keenum, Gabbert did not blow away the coaching staff with his performance in the preseason, but he was more consistent than Kaepernick.
Regardless, San Francisco is a perfect 5–0 straight up and against the spread in its last five season openers. The team is also an impressive 6-1-1 SU in its past eight home meetings with the Rams, according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
In the MNF opener, the Steelers will be without running back Le’Veon Bell due to a three-game suspension for a repeat violation of the NFL’s substance-abuse policy, but they still have plenty of offensive weapons and certainly more than the Redskins.
Quarterback Ben Roethlisberger and wide receiver Antonio Brown are among the very best at their respective positions and will try to help Pittsburgh break a five-game winless streak versus the season openers. The Steelers are just 1–4 straight up and 0-4-1 against the spread in Week 1 dating back to 2011.
The Redskins are only 1–5 ATS in their last six games against AFC opponents, and they will look to prove their NFC East title last year was no fluke. Led by quarterback Kirk Cousins, Washington won the division by going 9–7 both SU and ATS in 2015.
The Steelers and Redskins kick off at 7:10 p.m. ET on Monday night, followed by the Rams and 49ers at 10:20 p.m.
