Sportsbooks celebrated a lucrative day during the second Sunday of the 2024 NFL season, with Week 2 delivering several massive upsets on the slate.
BetMGM data and PR analyst, John Ewing, posted about sportsbook operators needing at least one of three favorites between Dallas, San Francisco, and Baltimore to lose outright. By the end of the 1 p.m. ET slate, all three favorites wound up losing.
Dallas was -6 on the point spread against New Orleans, and lost 44-19 at home to the Saints. The Ravens were -8.5 at home against the Las Vegas Raiders, and lost 26-23, and San Francisco fell 23-17 on the road to the Minnesota Vikings after closing as a -4.5 point favorite.
Week 2 winners and losers
While there were a few favorites who managed to post outright wins and cover the point spread in Week 2, the number of upsets that occurred with some of the most popular favorites tipped the scales in favor of sportsbook operators.
“Looking at the finals, most can envision a good day for the sportsbooks,” said Jay Kornegay, vice president of race and sportsbook operations at The SuperBook at the Westgate Las Vegas, told Covers. “With a couple of significant dogs winning outright, most parlays and teasers were eliminated. The Raiders, Saints, and (Tampa Bay) Buccaneers victories were highlights for us. The biggest loser of the day was the (Los Angeles) Chargers hammering of the pathetic (Carolina) Panthers. For the foreseeable future, sportsbooks are going to be fans of Carolina.”
The Bucs closed as a +7.5 underdog and won their playoff rematch with the Detroit Lions 20-16. The Chargers helped public bettors by winning 26-3 as a -4.5 favorite over the Panthers.
Through two weeks, just six out of 32 NFL teams are 2-0 against the spread. This includes Arizona, Pittsburgh, Minnesota, Tampa Bay, the Chargers, and the Saints.
In terms of point totals, Seattle, Kansas City, New Orleans, Dallas, Arizona, and Baltimore are 2-0 on point total overs. The best under teams are Minnesota, Jacksonville, the Los Angeles Chargers, Miami, the New York Giants, Pittsburgh, Tennessee, Chicago, and Detroit.
