Thursday’s Hall of Fame Game between the Chicago Bears and Houston Texans represents the first NFL betting opportunity of the new season.
It’s also the first chance to see the league’s revamped kickoff situation. The NFL announced this offseason that the new rule offers a landing zone, alignment changes, and no movement by the coverage team until the ball touches the ground or the returner.
The league hopes this change will help boost big-play special teams opportunities and keep the number of dangerous collisions down as well.
It’s something that will take some getting used to for fans, but will it affect sports betting? A Fanatics Sportsbook spokesperson said this to Covers:
The new kickoff rule will not make an impact on markets like total points and spread markets. There could be some small impact on markets that feature offensive positions like running back and wide receivers seeing time as return specialists. A market like anytime touchdown would be the best example and could see some impact from the new kickoff rule.
Favorite and the Under, please
Chicago quarterback and No. 1 overall NFL draft pick Caleb Williams won’t be making his debut on Thursday, and C.J. Stroud won’t begin building off his record-setting rookie season with a Year 2 performance in Canton, Ohio, either.
The Bears-Texans don’t plan on rolling out offensive starters for this one, but it’s still football, and oddsmakers are getting action on the game — especially with an increase of legal sports betting markets in the U.S. this year compared to 2023.
Houston is a slight 1.5-point favorite at DraftKings, which has seen 64% of the bets and 80% of the handle on the Texans.
With odds of -130 to win outright, the Texans are getting the bulk of the moneyline handle (64%) at DraftKings, while the Bears lead in tickets (53%).
The total has taken heavy action on the Under, which has moved from 33 to 31.5 at ESPN BET and is getting 84.1% of the handle. Considering the lack of firepower on the field and the limited number of practices before the game, it’s no surprise 74.3% of the tickets are betting on a low-scoring game.
J-E-T-S taking action
ESPN BET also provided an update on several key futures markets before preseason action begins.
Defending champion Kansas City Chiefs are getting 19% of the handle in the Super Bowl winner market, with the Detroit Lions coming in second at 11%.
The most-bet AFC winner by handle is the New York Jets, who haven’t been to the Super Bowl since 1968. A healthy Aaron Rodgers at QB has bettors thinking this is the year. The Jets also lead the AFC East winner market with 47% of the money compared to the Bills, who are getting 36%.
There’s no love for the Dallas Cowboys so far as “America’s Team” isn’t in the Top 5 in the Super Bowl or NFC champion markets and sits dead last with 4% of handle to win the NFC East in 2024.
Individually, Chiefs QB Patrick Mahomes leads the market with 23% of the handle to be named NFL MVP, but Stroud is getting the most wagers at 14%.
Williams starts the preseason as the top ticket (16%) and money (35%) option for Rookie of the Year.
