[h=1]Week 13 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 14 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 -- We've known for a long time that how we think of NFL teams can change drastically from week to week, but even that might be taken to the extreme as we take a look at the lines for Week 13.<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
When we do this report each Sunday night comparing the opening lines for the following week with the advance lines that were posted at the Westgate the previous Tuesday, there are usually a handful of games that have moved a couple of points, but nothing like this week, where we have eight of the 16 games moving by at least two points, including three games with a change of favorites. (This doesn't potentially include the Colts-Steelers game that opened with Pittsburgh -7.5 while the Steelers game in Seattle was still in progress and then was taken off the board when Ben Roethlisberger didn't return for his team's final drive.)
Case in point: Green Bay was a 6-point road favorite for this upcoming Thursday night's game in Detroit at the Westgate last Tuesday, but after the Lions won their third straight game on Thanksgiving and the Packers lost to the Bears that night, the line was reopened at Green Bay -3.5 on Sunday afternoon. Some other books went even lower at -3.
Other big moves:
Dolphins at Ravens: Miami was -6.5 last week at the Westgate, but after the Dolphins got dominated by the New York Jets on Sunday the line was lowered to -4.5. This game is off the board at most books as Baltimore plays on ESPN's Monday Night Football, so we'll see how that game further impacts this line.
Panthers at Saints: Carolina was -3.5 last week, but after the Panthers improved to 10-0 on Thanksgiving and with the Saints continuing to look anemic in their 24-6 loss at Houston, this line was bumped up to Carolina -7.
Falcons at Buccaneers: Atlanta was a 1-point road favorite on the advance line, but after both teams lost Sunday, the line was reopened Tampa Bay -2.5.
Jets at Giants: The Giants were a 1.5-point favorite in the battle of New York on the advance line, but after the Jets beat the Dolphins and the Giants lost to the Redskins on Sunday, there was a change of favorite to Jets -1.
Broncos at Chargers: Denver was -6 on the advance line, but the Chargers showed some life in beating the Jaguars 31-25 and it was lowered to -4. The game was then taken off the board at the kickoff of the Broncos' Sunday night game against the Patriots and will be re-posted Monday morning.
Eagles at Patriots: New England was -9.5, but after Philadelphia's 45-14 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving the Westgate moved the line all the way to -11.5. Again, most books had this game off the board with the Patriots playing Sunday night, so check to see where it's re-posted on Monday morning.
Cowboys at Redskins (Monday): Dallas was -3 (even) last week at the Westgate, but then the Cowboys lost to the Panthers on Thanksgiving (and also lost Tony Romo again), so coupled with the Redskins' win over the Giants the line was reopened Washington -3. Offshore books went even higher between -4 and -5, and the Westgate was quickly bet to -3.5 and could be headed higher.
In addition to the aforementioned early money on Detroit and Washington, the only other lines that moved Sunday afternoon at the Westgate by the kickoff of the Patriots-Broncos game were Cleveland (opened +7.5 against Cincinnati and bet down to +7) and Indianapolis (opened +7.5 against Pittsburgh and bet to +7 before it was taken off the board as mentioned above).
We'll see how these lines get further bet into shape after the rest of the sportsbooks put up their openers on Monday morning.
<aside class="inline inline-with-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 570px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px;"><header class="inline-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; overflow: hidden;">[h=1]Week 13 openers[/h]Courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas 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.
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 14 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 -- We've known for a long time that how we think of NFL teams can change drastically from week to week, but even that might be taken to the extreme as we take a look at the lines for Week 13.<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
When we do this report each Sunday night comparing the opening lines for the following week with the advance lines that were posted at the Westgate the previous Tuesday, there are usually a handful of games that have moved a couple of points, but nothing like this week, where we have eight of the 16 games moving by at least two points, including three games with a change of favorites. (This doesn't potentially include the Colts-Steelers game that opened with Pittsburgh -7.5 while the Steelers game in Seattle was still in progress and then was taken off the board when Ben Roethlisberger didn't return for his team's final drive.)
Case in point: Green Bay was a 6-point road favorite for this upcoming Thursday night's game in Detroit at the Westgate last Tuesday, but after the Lions won their third straight game on Thanksgiving and the Packers lost to the Bears that night, the line was reopened at Green Bay -3.5 on Sunday afternoon. Some other books went even lower at -3.
Other big moves:
Dolphins at Ravens: Miami was -6.5 last week at the Westgate, but after the Dolphins got dominated by the New York Jets on Sunday the line was lowered to -4.5. This game is off the board at most books as Baltimore plays on ESPN's Monday Night Football, so we'll see how that game further impacts this line.
Panthers at Saints: Carolina was -3.5 last week, but after the Panthers improved to 10-0 on Thanksgiving and with the Saints continuing to look anemic in their 24-6 loss at Houston, this line was bumped up to Carolina -7.
Falcons at Buccaneers: Atlanta was a 1-point road favorite on the advance line, but after both teams lost Sunday, the line was reopened Tampa Bay -2.5.
Jets at Giants: The Giants were a 1.5-point favorite in the battle of New York on the advance line, but after the Jets beat the Dolphins and the Giants lost to the Redskins on Sunday, there was a change of favorite to Jets -1.
Broncos at Chargers: Denver was -6 on the advance line, but the Chargers showed some life in beating the Jaguars 31-25 and it was lowered to -4. The game was then taken off the board at the kickoff of the Broncos' Sunday night game against the Patriots and will be re-posted Monday morning.
Eagles at Patriots: New England was -9.5, but after Philadelphia's 45-14 loss at Detroit on Thanksgiving the Westgate moved the line all the way to -11.5. Again, most books had this game off the board with the Patriots playing Sunday night, so check to see where it's re-posted on Monday morning.
Cowboys at Redskins (Monday): Dallas was -3 (even) last week at the Westgate, but then the Cowboys lost to the Panthers on Thanksgiving (and also lost Tony Romo again), so coupled with the Redskins' win over the Giants the line was reopened Washington -3. Offshore books went even higher between -4 and -5, and the Westgate was quickly bet to -3.5 and could be headed higher.
In addition to the aforementioned early money on Detroit and Washington, the only other lines that moved Sunday afternoon at the Westgate by the kickoff of the Patriots-Broncos game were Cleveland (opened +7.5 against Cincinnati and bet down to +7) and Indianapolis (opened +7.5 against Pittsburgh and bet to +7 before it was taken off the board as mentioned above).
We'll see how these lines get further bet into shape after the rest of the sportsbooks put up their openers on Monday morning.
<aside class="inline inline-with-table" style="box-sizing: border-box; border: 1px solid rgb(221, 221, 221); clear: both; margin: 6px 0px 18px; padding: 15px; width: 570px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-size: 16px;"><header class="inline-header" style="box-sizing: border-box; font-size: 12px; overflow: hidden;">[h=1]Week 13 openers[/h]Courtesy of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook
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| FAVORITE | UNDERDOG | ADVANCE | OPENER | MOVE |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Packers | LIONS | -6 | -3.5 | -3 (-120) |
| BEARS | 49ers | -7 (even) | -7 | |
| Bengals | BROWNS | -7 | -7.5 | -7 |
| TITANS | Jaguars | -2.5 | -2.5 | |
| BILLS | Texans | OFF | -4 | |
| DOLPHINS | Ravens | -6.5 | -4.5 | |
| Panthers | SAINTS | -3.5 | -7 | |
| Seahawks | VIKINGS | -1.5 | -1 | |
| Cardinals | RAMS | -5.5 | -6.5 | |
| *BUCCANEERS | Falcons | +1.5 | -2.5 | |
| *Jets | GIANTS | +1.5 | -1 | |
| Broncos | CHARGERS | -6 | -4 | |
| Chiefs | RAIDERS | -2.5 | -3 (even) | |
| PATRIOTS | Eagles | -9.5 | -11.5 | |
| STEELERS | Colts | -6.5 (-120) | -7.5 | OFF |
| *REDSKINS | Cowboys | +3 (-120) | -3 | -3.5 |
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