Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports Pictured: Chicago Bears running back Jordan Howard
- The Chicago Bears covered the 6.5-point spread against the Green Bay Packers in Sunday's most heavily bet NFL game.
- Sixty-eight percent of bettors took the Packers, setting up a big night for the sportsbooks when Green Bay ultimately won by only one point.
- Public bettors looking to get even are chasing Monday night's Los Angeles Rams-Oakland Raiders matchup (10:20 p.m. ET).
Sunday night’s Chicago Bears-Green Bay Packers matchup was certainly a fun watch for fans, but sportsbooks got the last laugh as the Bears easily covered the 6.5-point closing spread in the day’s most heavily bet game.
According to The Action Network’s proprietary public betting data, Bears-Packers attracted almost 82,000 bets. Cowboys-Panthers finished a distant second with 50,677 total tickets wagered.
Sixty-eight percent of bettors laid the points with the Packers on Sunday Night Football, meaning the combination of a massive handle and one-sided Green Bay betting resulted in a big win for the books.
Last night’s game was not only the day’s most popular game among bettors, but it was also the most heavily bet Sunday night season opener since the New York Giants and Dallas Cowboys attracted more than 93,000 tickets in 2015.
Sportsbooks also cleaned up when the Tampa Bay Buccaneers defeated the New Orleans Saints straight-up as 10-point underdogs. Behind 74% of spread tickets and 79% of real dollars wagered, New Orleans was the most popular public side of Week 1.
With recreational bettors losing on Sunday night, the Rams (-4.5) are tonight’s “public chaser” as bettors look to make back what they lost with the Packers.
At the time of publication, 73% of tickets and 77% of dollars are on Los Angeles, so the books will certainly be big Oakland fans tonight.