Here are the top 5 NFL games to watch from a betting angle
The lines on all 272 NFL regular-season games are on the board at the Westgate SuperBook, and the Buffalo Bills aren’t underdogs in any of theirs.
Buffalo, the 6-1 favorite to win the Super Bowl, is favored in 15 of its 17 games, and the other two are lined at pick’em: Week 1 at the Los Angeles Rams and Week 6 at the Kansas City Chiefs.
Those two matchups make our list of the top five NFL nondivision games of the season, and they’ll all take place in the first eight weeks of the 18-week season.
Here’s a quick glance at each game and line:
Week 1: Bills at Rams (Pick, 52½)
The defending Super Bowl champion Rams opened as 1-point favorites in the Sept. 8 season opener on “Thursday Night Football” before the Westgate moved the line to pick’em.
“Usually the Super Bowl champion is obviously the favorite in the first game. But the Bills are perceived as the best team entering the year, which is why the line is pick,” SuperBook vice president of risk Ed Salmons said. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Buffalo closed as the favorite.”
Station Casinos has posted lines on NFL games of the year, and Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito expects the book to be rooting against the Bills all season.
“We saw last year when the Bills were getting points versus the Chiefs how bettors pounded them in the playoffs,” Esposito said. “I can see the same thing this year. The Bills are going to get a lot of love from bettors.”
Week 3: Packers at Buccaneers (-3, 52½)
Besides the Bills, the Buccaneers are the only team that isn’t an underdog in any game. Tampa Bay, the 7-1 second choice to win the Super Bowl, is favored in 16 of 17 games, with Week 14 at San Francisco a pick’em.
Golf partners Tom Brady and Aaron Rodgers will square off in a rematch of Tampa Bay’s 31-26 win over Green Bay in the 2021 NFC title game.
The Packers are underdogs in only one other game: Week 8 at Buffalo.
“That will be a huge handle game,” Salmons said. “The total is 52½, so there should be a lot of points. The public definitely likes that.”
Week 4: Chiefs at Buccaneers (-2½, 53)
Kansas City returns to the scene of its 31-9 loss to Tampa Bay in the 2021 Super Bowl at Raymond James Stadium.
The Chiefs have the league’s hardest schedule based on opponents’ win totals. But this “Sunday Night Football” showdown is the only game in which they’re underdogs. Kansas City is favored in 13 games, with three lined at pick’em: Week 6 vs. Buffalo, Week 7 at San Francisco and Week 11 at the Chargers.
Week 6: Bills at Chiefs (Pick, 54½)
This is a rematch of one of the greatest playoff games in NFL history. Kansas City beat Buffalo 42-36 in overtime in the divisional round last season on Patrick Mahomes’ 8-yard touchdown pass to Travis Kelce. Josh Allen threw a go-ahead 19-yard TD pass to Gabriel Davis with 13 seconds left. But that was enough time for Mahomes to march the Chiefs 44 yards to set up Harrison Butker’s game-tying 49-yard field goal.
“Obviously there are a lot of questions about the Chiefs entering the year, losing Tyreek Hill,” Salmons said. “Even last year, something was off about their offense all year. They still have Mahomes, so they figure to be a great team. We’ll see.
“If Buffalo beats the Rams and starts rolling, they could be as high as a 3-point or 3½-point favorite in that game, depending on Kansas City.”
Week 8: Packers at Bills (-3½, 52)
Allen, the 7-1 favorite to win the NFL MVP award, and Rodgers, the two-time reigning MVP, meet in a possible Super Bowl preview.
“Going into the year, that’s as good a Super Bowl prediction as you could come up with,” Salmons said. “You could say the Rams, but it’s hard to get back two straight years. Tampa is older, and its odds are shorter because of liability.
“Green Bay has the question of who is going to be their No. 1 receiver now with Davante Adams gone to the Raiders. They could actually be better without him, if Rodgers doesn’t stare down one receiver and spreads it around.”
Other compelling matchups include Rams at Bucs (-2½) in Week 9, Rams at Chiefs (-3) in Week 12, Chiefs (-2½) at Bengals in Week 13, and Rams at Packers (-2½) in Week 15.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.