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NFL Week 12 opening lines, odds and best bet: Steelers stay hot on Thursday Night Football
Week 12 of the 2024 NFL regular season is on the immediate horizon and it will begin with Thursday Night Football between the AFC North rival Pittsburgh Steelers and Cleveland Browns. Sunday’s slate...
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NFL Betting Explained
NFL is by some way the most popular sport to bet on across the US, and with the relative recency to sports betting, many people are left wondering how to bet on the NFL and the different ways in which you can. Each NFL match will have hundreds of different markets in which you can wager on, from betting on the winner of the game, to the point spread, or a whole host of Player Prop Bets such as touchdown scorers, interceptions and total yards.
The possibilities when betting on an NFL game are near limitless. The main three ways people will bet on an NFL game, however, are the Moneyline, Point Spread, and Points Totals, read on for a full explanation of these bet types and how they relate to the NFL. You can even get expert NFL betting tips and strategies in our guide on how to bet on the NFL.
NFL Betting This Week
The NFL, even with an extended 18 week season, is over in a flash and much shorter in comparison to other major sports such as the NBA, MLB, and NHL. With a fewer number of games, each game is of huge importance. The margins are fine in the NFL and even though there are no more than 16 games a week, it’s still a tall task putting in the required amount of research ahead of the NFL betting this week.
Each week of the season, right through until the Super Bowl itself, here at Pickswise our expert handicappers put in the work so you don’t have to. We break down all of the NFL betting this week to find the best lines, odds, and ultimately bets ahead of this week’s games. All of our betting previews are posted a couple of days before the game to give you the chance to see our analysis, the key stats, and takeaways as well as making your own judgment before locking in those odds. Check back each week to find the best NFL Betting advice for this week.
NFL Betting Lines
The NFL Betting lines are much discussed throughout the week and leading up to game day, even amongst the mainstream media. Most NFL Betting Lines will be released on Monday, following the conclusion of the teams’ matches, but some factors such as injuries or potential injuries can cause the sportsbooks to delay the release of these lines. Sharp bettors will look at these lines as early as possible and try to take advantage of the points or odds. It’s not uncommon for a line to more a few points from the opening NFL Betting Line, so if you are betting early and on the right side of the move, you could be on the Chiefs at -6 when bettors on Sunday would have to take them at -8, which can easily be the difference between winning and losing. We react to the opening NFL betting lines every week of the season as well as all of the latest NFL Odds so be sure to check out which betting lines our experts like each week.
NFL Public Betting
NFL Public Betting is a term used to describe where the majority of the money is going on any given match. If 70% of the money is on the favorite against the spread, this would be described as the public being on the favorite. What this can do is shift the odds and line on the spread. The sportsbooks want to balance their books so that they will win regardless of the outcome, and by moving the line say from -6 to -7, they may attract bettors to take the underdog getting a touchdown. Pickswise is the home of all things NFL Betting and we will provide updates on the NFL Public Betting lines throughout the week and highlight the best NFL betting opportunities as a result of where the public money is going and how best to profit from it, including when to fade the public.
NFL Sports Betting Markets
There are many different NFL Sports Betting Markets and here at Pickswise, we have them all covered for you. All of our NFL betting advice is completely free and will come with a fully-researched analysis and the important stats and trends to consider. We have something for every type of NFL bettor, from our regular NFL Picks & NFL Predictions or which look at the Moneyline, Spreads, and Totals, to our NFL Prop Bets, which include player and team props such as Anytime Touchdown Scorers, to those who like to shoot for the stars with an NFL Parlay. We also have the Pickswise Supercomputer that churns out 10,000+ simulations ahead of each game to predict the score and the best NFL Computer Picks for each game. Whatever your favorite way to bet on the NFL, we have experts on hand to provide the best free NFL betting advice and picks.
NFL Betting Online
NFL betting online is the most popular type of sports wagering and with the continued expansion of legalizing online sports betting, this is only set to grow. With the NFL’s popularity sportsbooks will offer competitive odds and range in their markets, and also offer plenty of odds boosts or specials such as Parlay Insurance. We will also highlight the best odds available from the sportsbooks in our analysis, as well as highlighting the best price boosts and specials each week. Check out our Best Online Sportsbooks for the best betting site promo codes and welcome offers available right now. We’ve also compiled an expert list of the best NFL betting sites to help you make the most of your NFL bets.
NFL Live Betting
NFL Live Betting is becoming increasingly popular and is expected to be the next big thing in the US sports betting industry. Live betting is simply still being able to wager on a game after it has started. While you won’t get as expansive a selection of markets, you can still wager on the main money line, points totals, and against the spread, as well as a select number of player and team prop bets. The odds and lines are dynamic in NFL Live Betting, meaning they instantly change to reflect the action as it unfolds. If a favorite concedes an early touchdown, their odds will worsen and you can take them to win at bigger odds than pre-game.
Types Of NFL Betting
There are countless ways in which you can bet on an NFL game, from the winner of the match to very specific player stats, NFL betting has more options than any other sport. Check out some of the more popular types of NFL betting below.
NFL Money Line Betting
NFL money line betting is the simplest way to bet on an NFL game. Betting a team on the money line is simply picking that team to win the match. Ties are rare in the NFL, but they do happen, in this case, with a 2-way money line i.e. you can only bet on team X or team Y to win, which will result in a push. A 3-way money line, where the tie is offered, would see your money line bet on a team losing if the game results in a tie.
NFL Against The Spread Betting
NFL Against The Spread betting is by far the most popular way that people bet on the NFL each week. Betting against the spread is betting the favorite to win by more than a certain number of points, or betting that the underdog keeps the game closer than that same number of points, by either winning outright or losing by less than the total. For example, if the 49ers are -5 against the Seattle Seahawks and win 24-17 they would win outright, and cover the spread by winning by 7. If the Seahawks kept it closer, say 24-20, they would lose the game, but cover the spread as they lost by less than 5.
NFL Over Under Betting
NFL Over Under betting is a great way to wager on a match when you don’t like either side, or you predict it being a tight nervy affair or a shootout. Here you are betting on the total combined points from both teams. The line will be set by sportsbooks at something like 48.5, and if 49 or more points are scored the over hits, if it’s 48 or fewer, the under hits.
NFL Player Proposition Betting
NFL player proposition bets, more commonly referred to as NFL Prop Bets, are bets on the propositions of something occurring or not occurring. The most popular NFL player prop bet is on a player to score a touchdown, but there are many other performance-based props such as over/under a certain number of passing, rushing, or receiving yards. NFL player props lean themselves to the world of player performance matchups and NFL fantasy football which is why they tend to be so popular.
NFL Team Propositions Betting
Similar to NFL player proposition betting, NFL team proposition betting, is a bet on whether a team will or won’t do a certain thing in the game. NFL team props are a great way to wager on a game when you like one side more than the other. For example, if you like the Buccaneers to have a high scoring game, but are unsure if their opponent will score enough to see the over hit, you can bet on the number of points the Buccaneers score. You can also wager on which team will score first, who will win each quarter, or even the first turnover. The possibilities are limitless with NFL team props and our experts will have their best bets all season long over on the NFL Prop Bets page.
NFL Parlay Betting
With an action-packed Sunday every week of the NFL season, NFL Parlays are a popular choice amongst NFL bettors. While betting individual wagers will often be more profitable long term, and should always be your main plays, who doesn’t love shooting for the stars with an NFL parlay. NFL Parlays offer great odds and the more selections you add to your parlay the more your potential winnings will be, however, it also increases the difficulty of hitting on one. 2, 3 & 4-team parlays are often the best way to go with NFL betting, as any team is open to an upset on any given week.
NFL Teaser Betting
NFL Teaser betting is a type of parlay, but a much safer option than parlaying a few teams against the spread. What an NFL Teaser bet does is add or subtract more points, in your favor, to the spread line. For example, the most common NFL teaser would be a 2-team, 6-point teaser, this means you get an extra 6 points on each game, so if the lines are -3, you’ll have both teams at +3. With so many NFL games decided by 3 or fewer, this point shift can be huge. Of course, the odds of a teaser will be much lower than a regular 2-team parlay, but it’s a much safer way to build your bankroll.
NFL Games This Week
Here at Pickswise we have everything you need to know ahead of betting on any of the NFL games this week, all season long. You can find expert match previews, the best stats, odds and trends to consider, including player and team prop bets, same game parlays and NFL Best Bets. Be sure to check back every week of the regular season and throughout the NFL playoffs for the latest betting news and analysis.
NFL Preseason Betting
While not as popular as regular season games, where every game means so much more, NFL preseason betting is still an opportunity to try and get one over the sportsbooks. A now reduced three-week NFL preseason will see a mix of starters, backups and practice squad players, so betting these games take even more researching. Check back throughout the NFL preseason, which starts with the Hall Of Fame Game, for expert analysis and everything you need to Bet Better on the NFL Preseason.
How To Bet On The NFL Preseason
Betting the NFL preseason is a completely different challenge to betting regular season matches, and for a number of reasons. You’ll have players holding out of contracts, those returning from injuries, starters only playing a series or two, if at all and plenty of rookies getting their first taste of the NFL. This makes predicting matches and lines incredibly difficult, but for the sportsbooks too. Here are a few tips to consider when betting the NFL preseason, but be sure to check back each week of preseason for full analysis from our expert handicappers.
- Quarterbacks – As ever one of the key proponents of NFL betting, but here you want QB depth. An established veteran QB at 2 or 3 on the depth chart tends to fare better than one with little to no starting experience in the NFL.
- Coaches – Coaches, and coaching methods vary widely around the NFL. Some coaches like to set a tone early in the year with the preseason, while some wont care quite as much. Jim Harbaugh for example it 40-12 in the preseason and has won his last 20 games in the preseason, dating back to 2016.
- Game Week News – Towards the back end of game week, you’ll start to hear more from coaches and players about who will play, who wont, and what capacity they’re likely to play in. This all helps build a picture and will move the markets, so be quick when you hear breaking NFL news!
