Parlays have become all the rage in the sports betting landscape increasing the entertainment value of your experience and allowing for a much higher payout if successful. Even though we have past performance and a smattering of preseason games to go off, handicapping the opening weekend of the NFL is always difficult. With most regulars getting a handful of reps if any at all during the exhibition season we didn’t learn much from the games. That won’t prevent us from getting all geeked up about the start of another season and betting on the NFL using bitcoin. Week 1 opens with a rematch of the AFC Championship when the Baltimore Ravens visit two-time defending champion Kansas City Chiefs on Thursday night. There are a lot of unknowns so I’m entering the week cautiously optimistic about my NFL parlay picks. But we’ll see if I can make a few bucks anyway.
NFL Betting Lines
Week 1 NFL Parlay Card Wagers
Green Bay Packers +3 vs. Philadelphia
Indianapolis Colts +2.5 vs. Houston
Easing my way into the season I thought I’d start with a couple of two-team parlays broken down into underdogs and favorites. However, there is no limit to how creative you can get when building a winning NFL parlay.
I’m not convinced the Philadelphia Eagles have fully recovered from last season’s second half meltdown that saw them lose five of their last six regular season games and then tiptoe out of the playoffs with a 32-9 loss to Tampa Bay. It was a tragic turn for a team that reached the Super Bowl two years ago then started 2023 with 10 wins in 11 games. Nick Sirianni is coaching for his job, according to some insiders, but once the hottest ticket in the NFC, the Eagles are an afterthought entering the campaign.
Meanwhile the Packers are trending up behind Jordan Love. They won six of their final eight regular season games and shredded Dallas in the Wild Card Round. Love threw for over 4,100 yards and 32 touchdowns a season ago as the Packers finished just outside the top 10 in scoring and total offense. Love and the offense got better as the season progressed and will continue that momentum at the start of 2024.
Maintaining success in the NFL is hard to do and that’s what the Houston Texans face after winning 10 games and the AFC South in 2023. The Colts were just a game back in the standings despite losing Anthony Richardson early in the campaign and they split the season series. The Colts outplayed Houston in the loss giving me confidence to back them and the points at home.
Parlay Card Favorites
Chicago Bears -4.5 vs. Tennessee
LA Chargers -3 vs. Las Vegas
I’m buying what the Bears are selling and No. 1 overall draft pick Caleb Williams is making that an easy decision. Critics will claim that Williams hasn’t done anything in the NFL and they’d be right. But few rookie QBs were as accomplished as Williams during a stellar collegiate career. He played against and destroyed good teams last year at USC and was sharp in limited preseason action.
The thing about the Bears is that they aren’t asking Williams to turn the franchise around. The Bears were solid defensively and rebounded from a tough start finishing last season with five wins in eight games. Williams will definitely help the offense with guys like DJ Moore and Rome Odunze catching passes and the upgraded line will give him the time. I didn’t like the Titans firing Mike Vrabel, a move that likely set them back, and they didn’t do much to improve a team that went 6-11 last year.
Justin Herbert is expected to play in the Chargers’ opener against the Raiders in an early AFC West clash making them potent on that side of the ball. While the Bolts look like they want to win tearing down a roster loaded with stars after going 5-11 last season then hiring Jim Harbaugh as coach, the Raiders appear stuck in mud. Vegas will apparently go with journeyman Gardner Minshew at QB and they failed to significantly upgrade the roster. Harbaugh has won at every stop of his coaching career and his previous stint in the NFL with the Niners resulted in three NFC Championship game appearances. I can see him having the same effect in LA which is why I’m laying the points with the Bolts.
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