Surprisingly, Money on Patriots-Dolphins Isn’t the Most Lopsided of Week 2
- The Patriots vs Dolphins spread (NE -19 at some sportsbooks) is the biggest of the week, and the biggest spread we’ve seen in the NFL since 2013
- The spread opened as low as 14.5 at some sportsbooks, but bettors have hammered the Pats
- Surprisingly, the percentage of money New England is seeing is not the most lopsided of the week
After the Miami Dolphins were done getting walloped by the Baltimore Ravens (59-10) in Week 1, sports bettors were already looking ahead to their Week 2 matchup with the New England Patriots, wondering how high sportsbooks would open the spread.
Once the world saw the 33-3 beatdown the Pats put on the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday Night Football, it was clear there was no spread the sportsbooks could throw at New England in Week 2 that would be too high.
Sportsbooks opened the spread at New England -15, and that number was bet all the way up to 19.5 before some Dolphins bettors showed up to push it back to the 18.5 it currently sits at. One sportsbook in particular has reported that 78% of the money and 73% of the bets they’ve taken against the spread in this game have been on the Patriots.
However, this isn’t their most lopsided handle of the week. That honor belongs to the Dallas vs Washington game.
Most Lopsided Handles of Week 2
| Game | Spread | Money Breakdown |
|---|---|---|
| Dallas vs Washington | DAL -6 | 86% DAL |
| New England vs Miami | NE -18.5 | 78% NE |
| Chicago vs Denver | CHI -2 | 72% CHI |
All odds taken September 14.
Heavy Money on Cowboys
A surprising 86% of the money and 86% of the bets are on the Cowboys in Week 2. Betting sites just cannot find the Washington bettors, despite moving the spread from 4.5 to 6.
The Cowboys are coming off a 35-17 win over the Giants in Week 1. Dak Prescott wasted no time wasted no time proving to Jerry Jones he is worthy of a long-term extension, as the pivot posted a perfect passer rating while throwing four touchdowns.
A @Dak DIME to @michael13gallup ?#NYGvsDAL pic.twitter.com/EYEtTUDuEB
— Dallas Cowboys (@dallascowboys) September 8, 2019
Washington was up 17-0 on the Philadelphia Eagles late in the first half last week, but Carson Went and the Eagles offense finally woke up and scored 25 unanswered points in the second half to complete the comeback.
It’s clear bettors believe Week 1 was more of Philadelphia coming out flat than Washington being better than expected.
Bettors Loving Road Favorites
In Week 1, road favorites were 3-1-1 straight up and 3-2 against the spread, as seen in our sports betting data tool. The Chiefs, Ravens, and Rams all covered in this situation, while the Lions and Broncos came up short.
Had you bet all road favorites last week, you would have profited 0.98 units.
It’s certainly odd to see bettors loving road favorites so much, especially road favorites playing divisional foes – NE-MIA and DAL-WAS. But eight of the 16 games on tap this weekend see the road team laying points. Check out our NFL odds page to see the other five.
After working in TV, Matt turned his focus towards numbers, specifically odds. He has been with us since 2016 and serves as SBD's Editor-in-Chief, credited with creating our futures trackers, SBD's score predictor, SBD Sharp, and his own model for calculating NFL SOS, among other products.
