Patriots kick off season as 6-point favorite over Steelers

New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady (12) celebrates with head coach Bill Belichick. (Winslow Townson-USA TODAY Sports)

In about five months, Tom Brady and the New England Patriots open the NFL regular season by hosting the Pittsburgh Steelers. That bit of news generated a buzz on a Tuesday in April.

Jay Kornegay, Westgate Las Vegas sports book director, decided the buzz was loud enough to call an audible. Instead of waiting a day to open Week 1 lines, as he had planned, Kornegay and his oddsmakers posted the numbers on the board immediately.

“There was so much discussion and so much interest in it, we decided to throw it up right away,” Kornegay said.

The NFL’s release of its 17-week schedule now qualifies as a significant event on the betting calendar. It’s big enough that ESPN turned it into a two-hour show, and the wagers were rolling in soon after the show kicked off. The Westgate’s wagering limits are $5,000 for sides and $1,000 for totals.

The first line up was New England as a 6-point favorite over Pittsburgh. As Super Bowl champions, the Patriots were scheduled to open at home Sept. 10, but the opponent they would draw was a mystery. Brady drew Ben Roethlisberger in an intriguing matchup of star quarterbacks.

Dallas opened as a 5½-point home favorite over the New York Giants in the first Sunday night game. In the Monday doubleheader, Philadelphia is a 1½-point favorite at Atlanta, and San Francisco is a 3½-point home favorite over Minnesota.

NFL point spreads rarely move much between April and September, but there are some meaningful personnel questions yet to be answered in this offseason.

Who will be the Eagles’ starting quarterback? Is running back Adrian Peterson returning to the Vikings?

Will the San Diego Chargers deal veteran quarterback Philip Rivers? A hot rumor has the Chargers considering trading Rivers to Tennessee.

In next week’s draft, the Titans hold the No. 2 pick, which is expected to be Oregon quarterback Marcus Mariota. Tampa Bay is likely to take Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston No. 1.

Ironically, the Buccaneers opened as 3-point home favorites over the Titans in Week 1. But that game changes if Rivers is the quarterback for Tennessee.

The Chargers — with Rivers or Mariota at quarterback? — opened as 2-point home favorites over Detroit.

Buffalo, raising the curtain on a new era with Rex Ryan as coach, is a 3-point home underdog to Andrew Luck and the Indianapolis Colts.

Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers open as 4-point favorites over the Bears at Chicago, and those NFC North rivals meet again Thanksgiving night.

The most hyped game on the schedule might be in Week 12, when Brady and the Patriots go to Denver to face Peyton Manning and the Broncos. That showdown has the potential to be the biggest betting event of the regular season.

Contact reporter Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.