NFL Week 1 Betting Lines Released

It’s becoming something of a tradition in the sports betting world to get the lines for Week 1 NFL action posted very early. In fact, they’ve already been released by a number of sports books in Las Vegas and offshore. Never mind that the league is just a couple of months removed from the Super Bowl and that their college draft hasn’t been held yet.

Betting this early lines can be profitable but obviously very tricky at this stage of the game. One thing working in the favor of the bettor is the relative stability of NFL teams. All but the worst teams in the league have a good deal of continuity from year to year. It’s not like the Seattle Seahawks are going to radically shake up their lineup between now and opening weekend. The Seahawks will open the NFL season on Thursday, September 4 hosting the Green Bay Packers. Seattle has been installed as a -5′ point home favorite with the total set at 45.

One good strategy for betting early lines is to isolate lines that you think might move substantially between now and Week 1 kickoff. This is easier said than done, of course, but the idea is to set up a good middle opportunity taking one side now and the other side after (hopefully) a significant line movement.

Obviously these lines will get ‘sharper’ as the season draws nearer and as the marketplace moves them with their betting action. At this point, the strategy for betting Week 1 will be no different than betting any other NFL week. There is a minor difference in that none of the teams involved will have played a game that ‘counts’ and so much of NFL linesmaking is a simple reaction to what happened the previous week. That notwithstanding, it becomes like any other week. One good idea after the opening week lines have been bet into is to start taking a contrarian approach to betting them. Contrarian NFL betting is often the best strategy for success and for that reason you could look to bet ON teams that are being portrayed as doormats by the mainstream media and AGAINST teams that are being pegged as the league elite.

OPENING WEEK NFL LINES (HOME TEAM IN CAPS):

SEPTEMBER 4:

SEATTLE -5′ over Green Bay (45)

SEPTEMBER 7:

ATLANTA -2 over New Orleans (52)
ST. LOUIS -5′ over Minnesota (46)
PITTSBURGH -5 over Cleveland (41)
PHILADELPHIA -11 over Jacksonville (52′)
NEW YORK JETS -4′ over Oakland (39′)
BALTIMORE -2′ over Cincinnati (42′)
CHICAGO -6′ over Buffalo (49)
HOUSTON -2′ over Washington (46′)
KANSAS CITY -5′ over Tennessee (44)
New England -3′ over MIAMI (47)
Carolina -2′ over TAMPA BAY (40′)
San Francisco -4′ over DALLAS (48′)
DENVER -7 over Indianapolis (55′)

SEPTEMBER 8:

DETROIT -4′ over New York Giants (45′)
ARIZONA -3 over San Diego (44′)