NFL Week 1 Odds: Betting Lines and Trends for Top Matchups
The New England Patriots rallied back from a record 25-point deficit to stun the Atlanta Falcons and win Super Bowl 51 34-28 in overtime back on February 5, and the betting public is backing the defending champs like they went a league-best 16-3 against the spread last year en route to winning their fifth Vince Lombardi Trophy.
The Patriots are up to 9-point home favorites versus the Kansas City Chiefs on the Week 1 NFL betting lines at sportsbooks monitored by OddsShark.com as the season kicks off Thursday.
New England has covered the spread in eight straight games and beaten Kansas City six consecutive times at home (4-2 ATS). The big difference in 2017 is that quarterback Tom Brady will be starting the opener, but he will be without top receiver Julian Edelman, who suffered a season-ending knee injury in the preseason.
However, the Chiefs will also be without a top player in running back Spencer Ware, as he opted for season-ending knee surgery as well.
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Besides that AFC matchup, there are plenty of other interesting games on the Week 1 slate Sunday, including the Green Bay Packers hosting the Seattle Seahawks as 3-point home favorites in a key NFC clash.
The Seahawks were one of four unbeaten teams in the preseason at 4-0 both straight up and against the spread while totaling the most points. The Packers went 3-1 SU and 3-0-1 ATS, and they will try to win their eighth in a row over Seattle at home and earn their third victory in six meetings overall.
The Falcons will visit the Chicago Bears as 7-point road favorites, and they hope to have gotten past their brutal meltdown in the Super Bowl heading into their season opener. Atlanta should be one of the best teams in the NFC again this year, but Chicago has won 10 of the last 13 games between them and covered eight of 10 in the series.
There are three other games in Week 1 that are expected to be very competitive with point spreads of less than two points, including the Philadelphia Eagles and Arizona Cardinals both sitting as 1-point road favorites visiting Washington and Detroit, respectively.
Washington might be worth a look against the Eagles as home underdogs considering they are riding a five-game series winning streak, covering six in a row. In addition, the Cardinals have dominated the Lions lately, taking the last seven head-to-head matchups SU and covering the previous four meetings.
Perhaps the most intriguing matchup though will take place in Nashville when the Tennessee Titans host the Oakland Raiders as 1.5-point home chalk. The Raiders are getting a lot of love in the futures market, but so are the Titans, who have won eight of the past 11 home meetings. However, Oakland is 9-3 ATS in its last 12 road games according to the OddsShark NFL Database.
