[h=1]Week 10 early NFL line moves[/h]Dave Tuley, ESPN Staff Writer
ESPN INSIDER
Editor's note: This column appears each Sunday night to give ESPN Chalk readers a first look at the next week's NFL lines. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook also puts out the advance lines prior to Tuesday (so Week 11 lines will be posted this upcoming Tuesday), and we'll examine how the weekend action affected those lines. We'll also look at which lines were the first to be bet by the professional bettors in Vegas (traditionally, those are the bettors most likely to fire away on these openers, though it's not the exclusive club that it used to be).
LAS VEGAS -- That collective "here we go again" you heard on Sunday afternoon was Pittsburgh bettors (and fantasy owners of Ben Roethlisberger) bemoaning the fact that we're back to the guessing game with his availability after he suffered a mid-foot sprain.
The Steelers' game against the Browns was kept off the board when the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook posted its opening lines for Week 10 at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday. Of course, the game is also off the board because Cleveland coach Mike Pettine hasn't said whether Johnny Manziel will get his second straight start or ifJosh McCown will return to the starting lineup. The advance line at the Westgate last week was Pittsburgh minus-7. It might end up right back even with Landry Jones getting the start for the Steelers. This line could've been lowered with Pittsburgh failing to cover as 6-point favorites in its 38-35 shootout with Oakland, but Cleveland was blown out 31-10 by Cincinnati on Thursday night and that would normally push this line higher. If Big Ben hadn't been hurt, this line might have flirted with double digits.
Another quarterback injury was the reason for one other Week 10 game being off the board. Teddy Bridgewater suffered a concussion in the Vikings' 21-18 overtime win over the Rams, so the Westgate didn't put a line on the Minnesota-Oakland matchup. Last week, it was pick 'em.
There were three significant adjustments from the games that were posted.
Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams: St. Louis was a 7-point home favorite on the advance line, but even though it lost 21-18 to Minnesota and Chicago doesn't play until Monday night, the line was moved to St. Louis minus-9. However, the first early bets came in on the Bears and the line was lowered to minus-8.5. Most other books will have this matchup off the board until Monday night's result.
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos: Denver was a 7.5-point home favorite on the advance line, but after the Broncos lost their first game of the year at Indianapolis on Sunday, the line was adjusted to Denver minus-6.5 over Kansas City, which is coming off a bye.
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati was a 9.5-home favorite on the advance line, but after blowing out Cleveland 31-10 on Thursday night and covering as a 13-point favorite, the line was adjusted to Cincinnati minus-11 over Houston, which is also coming off a bye.
Two games were off the board last week but had lines added after Sunday's action.
The New York Jets-Buffalo Bills game was off the board with question marks surrounding both teams' starting quarterback. After both won on Sunday, the line opened New York minus-2.5 and early money came in on the Jets and pushed the line to minus-3.
The Carolina-Tennessee game was off the board last week with Marcus Mariota's status unclear, but after he led the Titans to a 34-28 upset of the Saints and the Panthers stayed unbeaten with a 37-29 upset of the Packers, Carolina was posted as a 4.5-point road favorite.
The rest of the Week 10 card saw minor adjustments either between the advance lines and Sunday's openers or in the early betting at the Westgate. We'll see how these lines get further bet into shape after the rest of the sports books put up their openers on Monday morning.
<aside class="inline inline-with-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 570px;"><header class="inline-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; overflow: hidden;">[h=1]Week 10 openers[/h]Courtesy of the Westgate SuperBook
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</tbody></aside>Note: Home teams in CAPS. The first number is the Westgate's advance line from last Tuesday; the second number is the Sunday afternoon "opener"; the third number is the move as of the kickoff of the Sunday night game.
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ESPN INSIDER
Editor's note: This column appears each Sunday night to give ESPN Chalk readers a first look at the next week's NFL lines. The Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook also puts out the advance lines prior to Tuesday (so Week 11 lines will be posted this upcoming Tuesday), and we'll examine how the weekend action affected those lines. We'll also look at which lines were the first to be bet by the professional bettors in Vegas (traditionally, those are the bettors most likely to fire away on these openers, though it's not the exclusive club that it used to be).
LAS VEGAS -- That collective "here we go again" you heard on Sunday afternoon was Pittsburgh bettors (and fantasy owners of Ben Roethlisberger) bemoaning the fact that we're back to the guessing game with his availability after he suffered a mid-foot sprain.
The Steelers' game against the Browns was kept off the board when the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook posted its opening lines for Week 10 at 4:30 p.m. PT on Sunday. Of course, the game is also off the board because Cleveland coach Mike Pettine hasn't said whether Johnny Manziel will get his second straight start or ifJosh McCown will return to the starting lineup. The advance line at the Westgate last week was Pittsburgh minus-7. It might end up right back even with Landry Jones getting the start for the Steelers. This line could've been lowered with Pittsburgh failing to cover as 6-point favorites in its 38-35 shootout with Oakland, but Cleveland was blown out 31-10 by Cincinnati on Thursday night and that would normally push this line higher. If Big Ben hadn't been hurt, this line might have flirted with double digits.
Another quarterback injury was the reason for one other Week 10 game being off the board. Teddy Bridgewater suffered a concussion in the Vikings' 21-18 overtime win over the Rams, so the Westgate didn't put a line on the Minnesota-Oakland matchup. Last week, it was pick 'em.
There were three significant adjustments from the games that were posted.
Chicago Bears at St. Louis Rams: St. Louis was a 7-point home favorite on the advance line, but even though it lost 21-18 to Minnesota and Chicago doesn't play until Monday night, the line was moved to St. Louis minus-9. However, the first early bets came in on the Bears and the line was lowered to minus-8.5. Most other books will have this matchup off the board until Monday night's result.
Kansas City Chiefs at Denver Broncos: Denver was a 7.5-point home favorite on the advance line, but after the Broncos lost their first game of the year at Indianapolis on Sunday, the line was adjusted to Denver minus-6.5 over Kansas City, which is coming off a bye.
Houston Texans at Cincinnati Bengals: Cincinnati was a 9.5-home favorite on the advance line, but after blowing out Cleveland 31-10 on Thursday night and covering as a 13-point favorite, the line was adjusted to Cincinnati minus-11 over Houston, which is also coming off a bye.
Two games were off the board last week but had lines added after Sunday's action.
The New York Jets-Buffalo Bills game was off the board with question marks surrounding both teams' starting quarterback. After both won on Sunday, the line opened New York minus-2.5 and early money came in on the Jets and pushed the line to minus-3.
The Carolina-Tennessee game was off the board last week with Marcus Mariota's status unclear, but after he led the Titans to a 34-28 upset of the Saints and the Panthers stayed unbeaten with a 37-29 upset of the Packers, Carolina was posted as a 4.5-point road favorite.
The rest of the Week 10 card saw minor adjustments either between the advance lines and Sunday's openers or in the early betting at the Westgate. We'll see how these lines get further bet into shape after the rest of the sports books put up their openers on Monday morning.
<aside class="inline inline-with-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-family: BentonSans, -apple-system, Roboto, Helvetica, Arial, sans-serif; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 570px;"><header class="inline-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; overflow: hidden;">[h=1]Week 10 openers[/h]Courtesy of the Westgate SuperBook
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| FAVORITE | UNDERDOG | ADVANCE | OPENER | MOVE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| JETS | Bills | OFF | -2.5 | -3 |
| PACKERS | Lions | -11.5 | -11 | -11.5 |
| Cowboys | BUCCANEERS | -1 | -1 | |
| Panthers | TITANS | OFF | -4.5 | |
| RAMS | Bears | -7 | -9 | -8.5 |
| Saints | REDSKINS | -2.5 | -2.5 | -2 |
| EAGLES | Dolphins | -5.5 | -6 | |
| STEELERS | Browns | -7 | OFF | |
| RAVENS | Jaguars | -5 | -6 | |
| RAIDERS | Vikings | Pick 'em | OFF | |
| BRONCOS | Chiefs | -7.5 | -6.5 | |
| Patriots | GIANTS | -7 | -7 | |
| SEAHAWKS | Cardinals | -3.5 | -3 (-120) | |
| BENGALS | Texans | -9.5 | -11 |
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