Updated NFL Week 1 odds for Saints vs. Packers

Tipico: Updated NFL Week 1 odds for New Orleans Saints vs. Packers

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Do the New Orleans Saints have a shot this weekend against the much-hyped Green Bay Packers? Oddsmakers and bettors seem to think so. The latest odds from Tipico Sportsbook have dropped the Packers down to 3.5-point favorites over New Orleans. Green Bay opened up as 4.5-point favorites, so we’ve seen that line shift slightly as sharp money comes in on the Saints.

Combine that with the projected over/under of 49.5 and we’ve got a final score predicted to fall near Green Bay 27, New Orleans 23. That’s probably too close for comfort for the Packers, but they’re well-positioned to give the Saints trouble. At the same time, it shows that New Orleans’ talent level may be closer than expected.

Still, it would be impressive to see Jameis Winston keep pace with Aaron Rodgers while throwing to a group of receivers including Marquez Callaway, Ty Montgomery, Deonte Harris, and Lil’Jordan Humphrey — most of whom were undrafted. Especially considering Rodgers’ stacked receiving corps. If the Saints can at least keep it close (or even challenge Green Bay for a Week 1 win), watch out once Michael Thomas and Tre’Quan Smith return to the lineup.

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Away from home, Saints are Week 1 underdogs vs. Packers

Away from home, Saints are Week 1 underdogs vs. Packers

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The New Orleans Saints’ regular season kickoff is going to look weird. They’re “hosting” the Green Bay Packers all the way out in Jacksonville, at the Jaguars’ TIAA Bank Field due to the impacts of Hurricane Ida on New Orleans. While previous listings from oddsmakers gave the Saints a homefield advantage against Green Bay at the Caesars Superdome, the game’s relocation puts the Saints in a tough spot.

Tipico Sportsbook has the Saints opening as underdogs, with the visiting Packers favored to win by 4.5 points. The over/under of 50.5 projects a final tally in the neighborhood of Green Bay 28, New Orleans 23. That would be a seven-point drop for the Saints over their regular season scoring average the last three years (30.1), as well as the total they scored against the Packers in last season’s matchup (a 38-30 loss at home).

It’s not unwarranted, though. Jameis Winston has his work cut out for him against a Packers defense eager to prove themselves. Winston will be working without his best wide receiver while Michael Thomas continues to recover from offseason ankle surgery, meaning second-year pro Marquez Callaway has the unenviable task of running against Green Bay’s best cover corner Jaire Alexander (who won Pro Bowl and All-Pro second team recognition a year ago). And that doesn’t even get into the challenge New Orleans’ defense faces in Aaron Rodgers and his strong supporting cast.

Oddly, all three of the other NFC South squads are favored to win this week. Sam Darnold and the Carolina Panthers are 5.5-point favorites against his old New York Jets team. The Atlanta Falcons have an easy (on paper) matchup with the Philadelphia Eagles, which they are favored to win by 3.5 points. And the reigning Super Bowl champion Tampa Bay Buccaneers, of course, are 7.5-point favorites over the visiting Dallas Cowboys in the 2021 season opener — can both teams lose that one?

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Packers over/under in 2021: 25 sacks for Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary

Will the Packers’ top trio of edge rushers get more than 25 sacks in 2021?

Over the course of the offseason, Packers Wire will be rolling out several over/under scenarios for the 2021 season, highlighting mostly statistical rundowns to ponder.

Each scenario will provide a poll option at the bottom for voting.

Up first is final sack total for the Packers’ top three edge rushers:

The over/under: 25 sacks for Za’Darius Smith, Preston Smith and Rashan Gary.

The background: The Packers brought back Preston Smith on a restructured contract, ensuring the defense’s top three edge rushers would get one more chance to hunt quarterbacks together. He will be playing 2021 on a highly incentivized deal based mostly around sacks. Za’Darius Smith, one of the game’s top rushers, has 26.0 sacks over his first two seasons in Green Bay. Gary, the 12th overall pick in 2019, broke out in a big way over the final half of his second season in 2020. Under new defensive coordinator Joe Barry, the Packers plan to figure out ways of getting all three on the field together. Overall, the trio played 2,128 total snaps last season.

Relevant information: In 2019, Za’Darius Smith and Preston Smith went over 25 sacks on their own, with 25.5 sacks split between the pair, including a career-high 13.5 from Za’Darius. Although Gary had a career year in 2020 with five sacks, the trio’s total dipped to 21.5, largely due to Preston Smith producing only four sacks.

Make the call

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Oddsmakers bet Cowboys-Chiefs will be highest-scoring game of 2021

Westgate Las Vegas has established over/under lines for every regular-season game; Dak Prescott and Patrick Mahomes could put on a show.

When Dak Prescott was at the helm in 2020, the Cowboys offense was scoring at a good clip, averaging over 32 points per game in the contests Prescott started. Vegas oddsmakers believe that with No. 4 back under center, the Dallas offense will pick up right where it left off during those five weeks.

The Westgate Las Vegas lines are in for the 272 games that make up the 2021 regular season, and the Cowboys-Chiefs showdown in Week 11 boasts an over/under of 55 points, the highest single game of the entire league slate.

As per Mike Florio at ProFootballTalk, the Chiefs have the most games with over/under numbers currently at 50 points or more, in 14 of their 17 matchups. The Buccaneers have 12 such games, and the Cowboys have seven.

Whether this signals high confidence in Prescott’s return to form in Dallas’s high-potential offense or skepticism that the team’s defensive woes have been adequately addressed… or is simply a byproduct of a mostly weak schedule remains to be seen.

But there is high-scoring history between the two historic franchises.

The last time the Cowboys and Chiefs met, in 2017, they combined for 45 points (in a 28-17 Dallas victory). They combined for 59 points in their 2005 meeting, a 31-28 Cowboys win. And remarkably, in a three-game series from 1975 to 1989, they combined for 65, 62, and 64 points.

For now, oddsmakers say bettors can also bank on a ton of points when Prescott and Patrick Mahomes renew the rivalry at Arrowhead Stadium the Sunday before Thanksgiving 2021.

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Vegas has Cowboys at just 9.5 wins in 2021; ESPN takes the under

Caesars Sportsbook thinks Dallas will just barely top the .500 mark this season; one team insider thinks that may be too optimistic.

It’s that time of year when rose-colored positivity abounds for Cowboys fans. Dak Prescott is signed and cruising down the road to recovery. Ezekiel Elliot is looking spry in posted workout videos. The lawfirm of Cooper, Gallup, and Lamb is on track to be a monster triple threat. The O-line is going to be healthy and angry. The defense has a brilliant new coordinator who’ll turn the ship around. The team will draft only perfect-fit prospects. No one will get hurt in camp. They’ll run the table and turn in an undefeated season en route to another Lombardi Trophy!!

Okay, maybe not. But yes, hope springs eternal in April in the NFL… at least until professional oddsmakers and network analysts jump in and rain on the parade with things like logic and reason.

Cowboys Nation won’t like what either party has to say about the 2021 team’s chances for a vast improvement over 2020.

Caesars Sportsbook by William Hill has released its initial win projections for each of the NFL’s 32 teams, just as over/under wagering was set to open on Friday. (The league announced it had signed a multiyear partnership deal with Caesars Entertainment and two companies other on Thursday.) And ESPN took the opportunity to have its NFL Nation reporters weigh in on those projections.

Caesars has Dallas’s 2021 win total pegged at 9.5 games.

But ESPN’s Todd Archer is taking the under. He’s predicting just a nine-win season for the squad.

He writes:

“As much as optimism will reign with the returns to health of Dak Prescott, Tyron Smith, Zack Martin, La’el Collins, and Blake Jarwin, the Cowboys’ defense has a lot to prove with a new coordinator in Dan Quinn. Maybe they will have all of the answers, but the Cowboys’ nondivision schedule looks to be difficult. They play at Kansas City, at Tampa Bay, at New England and at New Orleans. It is possible they lose all of those games, which puts a premium on the rest of the schedule to reach more than 9.5 wins. Of course, nine wins could still win the NFC East.”

A divisional crown would be welcome for the club that watched all of last year’s postseason from their sofas, but the Cowboys are certainly aiming for loftier goals than a 9-8 record.

Whether they go on to create a nice payday for bettors who take the over, though, only time will tell.

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Updated BetMGM betting odds for UCLA vs. Alabama in Sweet 16

Alabama and UCLA are set to face off in the Sweet 16 tonight. BetMGM has put together betting lines that point to Alabama being victorious.

The No. 2 Alabama Crimson Tide are all set to face off against No. 11 UCLA in the Sweet 16, with the winner facing either No. 1 Michigan or No. 4 Florida State.

BetMGM has put together odds for tonight’s matchup, which favors Alabama.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks.

Here are how the lines are currently set:

Spread:

Alabama: -7 (-110)

UCLA: +7 (-110)

Moneyline:

Alabama: -300

UCLA: +240

Over/under:

144.5 (-110)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

BetMGM betting odds for Alabama vs. Maryland

The Crimson Tide will go up againt Maryland in the Round of 32 for a chance to advance to the Sweet 16. BetMGM has Alabama over Maryland.

Alabama made it past the first round of the NCAA Tournament with a double-digit win over Iona. Now, they will face Maryland in the Round of 32.

The Crimson Tide has the ability to go far in the Big Dance, as some analysts have said, but before they can look ahead, they must first go up against the Terrapins.

BetMGM has created lines for the evening contest.

With the winner advancing to the Sweet 16, BetMGM has set the lines in Alabama’s favor.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks.

Spread:

Alabama: -5.5 (-110)

Maryland: +5.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

Alabama: -250

Maryland: +200

Over/under:

138 (-110)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

Updated BetMGM betting odds for Alabama vs. Iona

Alabama Crimson Tide basketball will begin their run in the 2021 NCAA Tournament against Iona. BetMGM believes Alabama will win over …

Alabama basketball will face off against No. 15 seed Iona tomorrow afternoon in the first round of the 2021 NCAA Tournament.

The Crimson Tide will enter the Big Dance as a No. 2 seed with high expectations after a successful season with second-year head coach Nate Oats.

This game leans in Alabama’s favor, according to BetMGM.

With only a few hours remaining until tipoff, oddsmakers have updated the betting lines.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks.

Spread:

Alabama: -16.5 (-110)

Iona: +16.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

Alabama: -1150

Iona: -2500

Over/under:

146.5 (-110)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

BetMGM betting odds for Alabama vs. Iona in first round of March Madness

Alabama basketball opens up the NCAA Tournament as a massive favorite over Iona in the first round. BetMGM lists all betting aspects of …

Alabama will open the NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament as a No. 2 seed in the East region, facing off against No. 15 seed Iona.

The No. 1 seed in the Crimson Tide’s region is Michigan, but they likely won’t face off for a few games – assuming they are both still in the running.

The first matchup for Alabama will be Iona, which finished the season with a final record of 12-5 overall. Oddsmakers believe is a contest that will go in the Crimson Tide’s favor.

BetMGM’s oddsmakers have Alabama as a 17-point favorite.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks.

Spread:

Alabama: -17 (-110)

Iona: +17 (-110)

Moneyline:

Alabama: -3000

Iona: +1250

Over/under:

146.5 (-110)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.

SEC MBB Tournament BetMGM odds: Alabama vs. LSU

Alabama and LSU will face off in the 2021 SEC MBB Tournament championship. Neither program has made it this far in quite some time, so h …

No. 1 seed Alabama will face off agsint No. 3 seed LSU in the SEC men’s basketball tournament championship game.

Neither of these teams have competed for a tournament title in quite some time. Alabama last played in the championship game in 2002, and for LSU it has been nearly three decades.

BetMGM has put together betting odds for the game, which lean in the Crimson Tide’s favor.

Odds courtesy of BetMGM, The King of Sportsbooks.

Spread: 

Alabama: -5.5 (-110)

LSU: +5.5 (-110)

Moneyline:

Alabama: -250

LSU: +200

Over/under:

158.5 (-110)

Gannett may earn revenue from audience referrals to betting services. Newsrooms are independent of this relationship and there is no influence on news coverage.