PANDEMIC CHALLENGES NFL ODDSMAKERS AHEAD OF WEEK 13

Sportsbooks faced with uncertainty as COVID-19 wreaks havoc on the NFL schedule, according to TheLines

The NFL season has brought ever more uncertainty over the last week, and that has affected oddsmakers ahead of the Week 13 slate of games, according to TheLines.com, which tracks odds in the U.S. regulated sports betting market. So many lingering questions remain as the nation’s largest sportsbooks release their opening lines.

How much of the Week 13 schedule will be impacted by the pandemic? What quarterbacks, and how many, will be available for the Denver Broncos? Where will the San Francisco 49ers play their home game against the Buffalo Bills? Will the rescheduled Baltimore Ravens-Pittsburgh Steelers game be played at all?

Such uncertainty is bound to affect oddsmakers. As star quarterback Lamar Jackson became the latest Raven to make his way to the COVID-19 reserve list, Pittsburgh has grown to a 10-point favorite over Baltimore after opening last week as 3-point favorites, according to a consensus of that nation’s largest legal online sportsbooks — including DraftKings, FanDuel, PointsBet, PlaySugarHouse, BetMGM, Unibet, and William Hill.

Meanwhile, the 49ers remain a 3-point “home” underdog to the Buffalo Bills with no over/under set yet, in a game in which the venue is still unsettled. The Broncos, recovering from their 31-3 loss in which receiver Kendall Hinton had to fill in as quarterback, are 13.5-point underdogs to the Kansas City Chiefs, and that line will likely change depending on Denver’s quarterback situation.

“Oddsmakers knew before the season that playing a full schedule in a pandemic would bring unprecedented challenges,” said Brett Collson, lead analyst for TheLines.com. “During the last week, though, we have seen just how pronounced those questions can be. This is a week when odds could shift significantly, and that will likely be a fact of life for the rest of the season.”

The consensus point spreads for Week 13 and remaining Week 12 games, as of Monday, Nov. 30:

• Seattle Seahawks (-6.5) at Philadelphia Eagles; over/under 49
• Baltimore Ravens at Pittsburgh Steelers (-10); over/under 41
• Cincinnati Bengals at Miami Dolphins (-11.5); over/under 42
• Cleveland Browns at Tennessee Titans (-4.5); over/under 54
• Indianapolis Colts (-2.5) at Houston Texans; over/under 53.5
• Jacksonville Jaguars at Minnesota Vikings (-9.5); over/under 51.5
• Las Vegas Raiders (-7.5) at New York Jets; over/under 46.5
• Detroit Lions at Chicago Bears (-5); over/under 45
• New Orleans Saints (-3.5) at Atlanta Falcons; over/under 46.5
• Los Angeles Rams (-1.5) at Arizona Cardinals; over/under 48.5
• New York Giants at Seattle Seahawks (-8.5); over/under N/A
• New England Patriots at Los Angeles Chargers (-1.5); over/under 48
• Philadelphia Eagles at Green Bay Packers (-7.5); over/under N/A
• Denver Broncos at Kansas City Chiefs (-13.5); over/under 49
• Buffalo Bills (-3) at San Francisco 49ers; over/under N/A
• Dallas Cowboys at Baltimore Ravens (-7); over/under N/A
• Washington at Pittsburgh Steelers (-10); over/under N/A

To access the updated futures lines for every NFL team, and for more analysis, visit TheLines.com/odds/super-bowl. To access Week 13 odds, visit www.thelines.com/nfl-week-13-lines-2020.