Betting Public Suffers Worst NFL Week 1 Ever as Underdogs Dominate Against the Spread
Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images. Pictured: Lamar Jackson
The Las Vegas Raiders overtime win over the Baltimore Ravens on Monday Night Football put an exclamation point on the worst Week 1 public bettors have ever seen.
Thanks in large part to underdogs dominating against the spread, sides with more public betting support finished 4-12. According to BetLabs data, that's the worst against the spread results for the public in database history.
Underdogs were 12-4 against the spread, also the best record in the BetLabs database. The previous best Week 1 for dogs was 11-5 in 2014.
It all started on Thursday when Dallas covered in the season-opener against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers — and were a late Tom Brady drive away from winning outright.
In the early Sunday slate, underdogs went 7-2 against the spread with six outright wins. They didn't slow down in the afternoon, with only the Broncos covering as a favorite and the Saints and Dolphins pulling outright upsets.
In total, nine underdogs won outright. Favorites won just seven games. Pittsburgh beating Buffalo as 6.5-point favorites was the biggest upset of the week, cashing +232 odds on the moneyline.
Betting $100 on every underdog with the spread would've profited $711, the largest amount in BetLabs history. A $100 bet on every underdog would've netted $683, which is over $300 more than any other Week 1 in BetLabs data.
Seven road teams opened as favorites for Week 2, including Kansas City over Baltimore, the Rams over the Colts, Bills over Dolphins and more.
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