NFL Week 1 Betting Lines Open With Chiefs, Colts, Ravens As Biggest Favorites

For the first time in seven months, sports bettors will be able to wager on NFL games as the 2020 season starts this week.

The Super Bowl champion Kansas City Chiefs host the Houston Texans on Thursday night in the annual NFL Kickoff Game. Thirteen games are scheduled for Sunday, and two Monday night contests round out the Week 1 slate.

Most stadiums will be empty to begin the year, though some venues will host fans during the coronavirus pandemic. Even with limited-capacity seating, teams with a home crowd could have an edge that other teams don’t.

Kansas City is the biggest betting favorite in Week 1. The Chiefs are also one of only two teams that will play with fans in attendance this week.

With fewer than 17,000 fans allowed inside Arrowhead Stadium, Kansas City is a nine-point favorite over Houston, according to OddsShark, which compiles betting odds from several different sportsbooks. The Chiefs hosted 2,000 season-ticket holders for practice on Aug. 22, and 5,000 fans were allowed to attend practice the following week.

“I was pretty impressed with the noise level today from the couple thousand,” Chiefs center Austin Reiter said after the Aug. 22 practice. “I think 17,000 is going to be pretty loud. I think it’s definitely going to be some noise there, which will be nice. I think a quiet game would probably be a little awkward, but I was excited because I think we’re definitely going to have some good noise there with the limited capacity we’ll have.”

The Chiefs are thought to have one of the best home-field advantages in the league. Kansas City is the favorite to win the Super Bowl in February.

Only two other teams are favored by more than a touchdown in Week 1. The Baltimore Ravens are 7.5-point favorites at home against the Cleveland Browns. The Indianapolis Colts are eight-point favorites on the road against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

The Jaguars are set to have limited-capacity seating at TIAA Bank Field. Jacksonville is considered to be among the worst teams in the NFL.

Six teams are favored on the road in Week 1. There were only four road favorites in the first week of last season.

The Dallas Cowboys, Los Angeles Chargers and Las Vegas Raiders are all favored by three points on the road. In a traditional season, home-field advantage is often thought to be worth somewhere between two and three points.

The Philadelphia Eagles are six-point road favorites against the Washington Redskins. The Pittsburgh Steelers are six-point favorites on the road against the New York Giants Monday night.

The point spread between the Tennessee Titans and Denver Broncos in the second Monday night game is a pick ’em.

In their first game with Tom Brady at quarterback, the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are 3.5-point underdogs against the New Orleans Saints. It’s been five years since Brady was an underdog in a regular-season game.

The New England Patriots are favored by 6.5 points over the Miami Dolphins without Brady on the roster for the first time in two decades. The Buffalo Bills, who are the new favorites in the AFC East, are 6.5-point favorites over the New York Jets Sunday.

The San Francisco 49ers are seven-point favorites in their first game since losing the Super Bowl. The Green Bay Packers, whom San Francisco defeated to reach the Super Bowl, are 2.5-point underdogs against the Minnesota Vikings.

The Detroit Lions and Seattle Seahawks are both short favorites Sunday.