[h=1]Vegas handicappers rank every NFL team: Patriots No. 1[/h]Dave Tuley
ESPN Staff Writer
ESPN INSIDER
LAS VEGAS -- The New England Patriots have extended their margin atop the NFL Vegas Rankings while the Minnesota Vikings stay in the No. 2 spot despite being dealt their first loss.
The Patriots went on the road to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-16 (albeit withBen Roethlisberger sidelined) as 7.5-point road favorites. The Vikings lost 21-10 as 3-point road favorites at Philadelphia, snapping a 10-game ATS streak dating back to last season.
Here's a look at the teams making the biggest moves up and down the rankings, along with some Week 8 value plays (12-8 ATS so far this season) using this week's ratings:
Note: The NFL Vegas Rankings are compiled by taking the average of the ratings of ESPN Chalk handicappers, including Erin Rynning, yours truly and ESPN's Football Power Index, and are used to compare two teams as if they were to meet on a neutral field (after which most teams get 2.5 points for home-field advantage) and can be used to compare to the current point spread.
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Movin' on up
The biggest increase in Week 7 came from the Miami Dolphins, whom we increased 1.5 points after their 28-25 upset of the Buffalo Bills as 2.5-point home underdogs. Part of that increase is probably due to not upgrading the Dolphins enough for their Week 6 win over the Steelers. Other teams earning a full-point increase were the Broncos for their 27-9 win as 9-point home favorites over theHouston Texans on Monday night, the Oakland Raiders for their 33-16 win as 2-point road underdogs at Jacksonville, the Indianapolis Colts for their 34-26 win as 4-point road underdogs at Tennessee, the Detroit Lions for their 20-17 win as 1-point home underdogs over Washington and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their 34-17 win as 1.5-point road underdogs at San Francisco.
Dropping down
The biggest decrease was 1.5 points for the San Francisco 49ers, who fell into a tie for the bottom team in our poll with the Cleveland Browns. They looked terrible on both sides of the ball in losing 34-17 to the Buccaneers as 1.5-point home favorites. The 1-point decreases were the Steelers (partly for not being downgraded enough previously for the loss of Big Ben), Texans and Jaguars. TheChicago Bears probably would have been on this list after their 26-10 loss at Green Bay last Thursday night and losing QB Brian Hoyer, but they're actually upgraded by half a point with the return of Jay Cutler.
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ESPN Staff Writer
ESPN INSIDER
LAS VEGAS -- The New England Patriots have extended their margin atop the NFL Vegas Rankings while the Minnesota Vikings stay in the No. 2 spot despite being dealt their first loss.
The Patriots went on the road to beat the Pittsburgh Steelers 27-16 (albeit withBen Roethlisberger sidelined) as 7.5-point road favorites. The Vikings lost 21-10 as 3-point road favorites at Philadelphia, snapping a 10-game ATS streak dating back to last season.
Here's a look at the teams making the biggest moves up and down the rankings, along with some Week 8 value plays (12-8 ATS so far this season) using this week's ratings:
Note: The NFL Vegas Rankings are compiled by taking the average of the ratings of ESPN Chalk handicappers, including Erin Rynning, yours truly and ESPN's Football Power Index, and are used to compare two teams as if they were to meet on a neutral field (after which most teams get 2.5 points for home-field advantage) and can be used to compare to the current point spread.
<offer style="box-sizing: border-box;"></offer>
Movin' on up
The biggest increase in Week 7 came from the Miami Dolphins, whom we increased 1.5 points after their 28-25 upset of the Buffalo Bills as 2.5-point home underdogs. Part of that increase is probably due to not upgrading the Dolphins enough for their Week 6 win over the Steelers. Other teams earning a full-point increase were the Broncos for their 27-9 win as 9-point home favorites over theHouston Texans on Monday night, the Oakland Raiders for their 33-16 win as 2-point road underdogs at Jacksonville, the Indianapolis Colts for their 34-26 win as 4-point road underdogs at Tennessee, the Detroit Lions for their 20-17 win as 1-point home underdogs over Washington and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers for their 34-17 win as 1.5-point road underdogs at San Francisco.
Dropping down
The biggest decrease was 1.5 points for the San Francisco 49ers, who fell into a tie for the bottom team in our poll with the Cleveland Browns. They looked terrible on both sides of the ball in losing 34-17 to the Buccaneers as 1.5-point home favorites. The 1-point decreases were the Steelers (partly for not being downgraded enough previously for the loss of Big Ben), Texans and Jaguars. TheChicago Bears probably would have been on this list after their 26-10 loss at Green Bay last Thursday night and losing QB Brian Hoyer, but they're actually upgraded by half a point with the return of Jay Cutler.
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RANK | TEAM | OCT. 18 | OCT. 25 | SB ODDS |
---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New England | 28 | 28.5 | 2-1 |
2 | Minnesota | 27 | 26.5 | 8-1 |
T-3 | Seattle | 25 | 25 | 6-1 |
T-3 | Green Bay | 25 | 25 | 10-1 |
T-3 | Denver | 24 | 25 | 12-1 |
T-3 | Arizona | 25 | 25 | 16-1 |
7 | Atlanta | 24 | 23.5 | 30-1 |
8 | Dallas | 23 | 23 | 8-1 |
T-9 | Kansas City | 22.5 | 22.5 | 20-1 |
T-9 | Buffalo | 23 | 22.5 | 80-1 |
T-11 | Philadelphia | 21.5 | 22 | 40-1 |
T-11 | Cincinnati | 21.5 | 22 | 40-1 |
T-11 | Carolina | 22 | 22 | 80-1 |
14 | Pittsburgh | 22.5 | 21.5 | 16-1 |
T-15 | Oakland | 20 | 21 | 25-1 |
T-15 | San Diego | 20.5 | 21 | 60-1 |
T-17 | New York (N) | 20 | 20.5 | 40-1 |
T-17 | Houston | 21.5 | 20.5 | 50-1 |
19 | Indianapolis | 19 | 20 | 30-1 |
T-20 | Washington | 19.5 | 19.5 | 60-1 |
T-20 | Baltimore | 20 | 19.5 | 80-1 |
22 | Miami | 17.5 | 19 | 80-1 |
T-23 | Detroit | 17.5 | 18.5 | 80-1 |
T-23 | Tennessee | 19 | 18.5 | 100-1 |
T-23 | Tampa Bay | 17.5 | 18.5 | 200-1 |
T-23 | New York (A) | 18.5 | 18.5 | 500-1 |
27 | New Orleans | 17.5 | 17.5 | 200-1 |
T-28 | Jacksonville | 18 | 17 | 300-1 |
T-28 | Los Angeles | 17.5 | 17 | 300-1 |
T-28 | Chicago | 16.5 | 17 | 2000-1 |
T-31 | San Francisco | 14.5 | 13 | 9999-1 |
T-31 | Cleveland | 13.5 | 13 | 9999-1 |
Odds from the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook as of Tuesday, Oct. 25 |