NFL Week 10 action report: Bettors riding Chiefs in Mahomes return
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The NFL season enters Week 10 with some big matchups on the slate. Where is the sharp money going? Which lines are moving the most? We're tracking the games drawing the most interest from bettors.
We talked to Jay Rood, Bet.Works' chief risk officer and theScore Bet's head trader, to see how sharps and public bettors are playing the Week 10 schedule.
All lines courtesy of theScore Bet.
Kansas City Chiefs (-6, 48.5) at Tennessee Titans
This game has moved more than any on the slate, with the Chiefs opening as 3.5-point road favorites on Tuesday.
The line bumped up to -5.5 once it was reported that Patrick Mahomes is expected to start, and it sits at -6, where it'll likely settle unless there's some unexpected sharp play on the Titans. Rood said the line won't drop more than around a point even if Mahomes is a late scratch, as there is already so much money invested in the contest.
"This is gonna be a game I think where the public is all over the Chiefs," Rood said.
The parlay action is nearly 100% in favor of Kansas City, with bettors taking the Chiefs at a 10-to-1 clip. That suggests this line could even creep up to -6.5 by game time, which may invite some late action from wise guys.
Buffalo Bills at Cleveland Browns (-2.5, 40.5)
Bettors are split between the six-win Bills and the two-win Browns, with sharps backing the home team and the public riding the road 'dog.
Early money on the Browns pushed the line to -2.5 (-120), where it remains as of Saturday morning. The average bet on Cleveland is twice as high as those on Buffalo, though the Bills are seeing twice the number of tickets ahead of Sunday. They're the public favorites in parlays, too, with roughly a 6-to-1 edge in tickets.
"That's an indicator there that the public might be taking the 'dog (on Sunday)," Rood said. "I could see this maybe being a pros versus Joes sort of thing, but we'll see."
Rood added that the line will likely sit at -2.5 into game time, though any more sharp play on Cleveland would push it to the key number of -3.
Los Angeles Rams (-4, 44.5) at Pittsburgh Steelers
Both sides are banged up heading into Sunday afternoon: Brandin Cooks is out for L.A., while James Conner is out and JuJu Smith-Schuster is questionable for Pittsburgh. Bettors favor the Rams here, though just barely, taking them with 60% of spread tickets but a near dead-even split in money.
In parlays, it's a different story. Los Angeles is seeing nearly 4-to-1 action over Pittsburgh and is almost exclusively the public's choice in teasers, even with a seemingly unfavorable number to tease across zero.
Expect the public to come heavy on the Rams before kickoff, which could inch this number a bit higher for the road favorites.
Seattle Seahawks at San Francisco 49ers (-6, 46.5)
This game would be seeing more action at this point if it weren't on Monday - bettors don't love to wait - but those early to the window are split between the NFC West rivals.
The 49ers opened at -5.5 and were nudged to -6, where they took a small sharp play. But Rood expects the number to move back in Seattle's favor, which could attract some late sharp play on the undefeated Niners.
"I see some -6.5s out there right now (on San Francisco)," Rood said. "I can't recall any real bias from the sharps on the Niners this season so far, so I don't see them getting as involved unless we drop back to -5.5 where we started."
"We're probably gonna be on the lookout for the public piling onto this game," he added.
C Jackson Cowart is a betting writer for theScore. He's an award-winning journalist with stops at The Charlotte Observer, The San Diego Union-Tribune, The Times Herald-Record, and BetChicago. He's also a proud graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill, and his love of sweet tea is rivaled only by that of a juicy prop bet. Find him on Twitter @CJacksonCowart.