NFL betting: Bettors really like Browns, Chiefs and Eagles to cover as favorites
Can the Cleveland Browns win at the Houston Texans for the second time this season? Bettors really think so.
The Browns enter Saturday’s wild-card game against the Texans as 2.5-point favorites at BetMGM. The line has moved from 1.5 points as Cleveland is getting over 80% of the bets and 87% of the money bet on the spread. The Browns beat the Texans 26-22 on Dec. 24, though it’s important to note that Texans QB C.J. Stroud didn’t play in that game. Stroud was sidelined with a concussion, and the Texans were quarterbacked by Case Keenum and Davis Mills.
Browns wide receiver Amari Cooper went off in that game as he had 11 catches for 265 yards and two scores. It felt like every time Houston attempted to get back into the game, Cooper made a catch that kept the Texans at arm’s length.
The Browns are the most popular team against the spread and the only one getting over 80% of the money, though the Chiefs and Eagles aren’t far behind. Last year’s Super Bowl participants are each getting 78% of the handle as Kansas City has gone from a 3.5-point favorite to a 4.5-point favorite over the Dolphins and the Eagles are 3-point favorites at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers on Monday night.
Saturday night’s game in Kansas City has a total of just 43 points as the weather will be absolutely frigid. The kickoff temperature could be near 0 degrees and wind chills could be at 20 to 30-below thanks to gusty north winds.
Rams getting a slight majority of money
Bettors are the most split on two Sunday games. The Dallas Cowboys are 7.5-point favorites at home against the Green Bay Packers and are getting 44% of bets and 55% of the money against the spread as Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy faces his old team.
The Rams and Matthew Stafford are getting 58% of bets and 55% of the money as 3-point underdogs at the Detroit Lions on Sunday night. It’s Stafford’s first game back in Detroit as a member of the Rams and the second time he and Jared Goff have faced each other after they were traded for one another ahead of the 2021 season.
