How to Bet on NFL Games: Spread, Moneyline, Totals
There are three major ways to bet on NFL games. Spread betting, moneyline betting, and total betting are how most people bet on the NFL. These are the betting odds that you see front and center when you are scrolling up and down the list of NFL games on any site, so these are the betting lines that get the most action each week. It’s pretty easy to make spread bets, moneyline bets, and total bets, and we will go over each type of bet you can make.
Spread Betting on the NFL
The most common way to bet on the NFL is to bet on the point spread of a specific game. Nowadays, sports betting is so ubiquitous that you can turn on the television or read an article and see the spread mentioned or shown when discussing a team’s upcoming game. Announcers will sometimes even mention the spread, and not just legendary gambler Brent Musburger making thinly veiled references to the betting odds like it was decades ago.
Simply put, betting on the spread means betting on a team to either WIN BY a certain number of points OR betting on a team to STAY WITHIN a certain number of points. You will see this listed with favorites being minus (-) points and underdogs being plus (+) points.
Examples are the best way to illustrate concepts for most people, so let’s use an example when it comes to NFL point spread betting. Assume that the Baltimore Ravens are favored by 7.5 points (-7.5) against the Cincinnati Bengals. If you took Baltimore -7.5, the Ravens would need to win by AT LEAST 8 points in order for you to win your wager. That means a final score of Baltimore 34, Cincinnati 24 would lead to Baltimore bettors winning, but a final score of Baltimore 34, Cincinnati 27 would lead to Cincinnati bettors winning. In this hypothetical scenario, a Cincinnati win would mean that Cincinnati covered the spread too, and that they didn’t need the points after all.
There are also pushes when it comes to spread betting. If a team wins a game by the exact amount it was favored, then the bet is considered a push or a “No Bet”. For instance, if the Atlanta Falcons beat the Carolina Panthers by 3 points in a game where the Falcons were -3, then all spread bets would be pushes with the initial stake returning to the bettors. However, please keep in mind that the rules are different on pushes with parlays and teasers.
Moneyline Betting on the NFL
The easiest way to bet on any sport is simply to bet the moneyline. When you place a moneyline bet, you are only betting for a team to win the game. It doesn’t matter if they win by a single point or by 70 points, a win is a win.
When you do place a moneyline bet, it’s unlikely that you will be betting the standard -110 odds though. Although there is a lot of parity in the NFL, there are great teams, good teams, mediocre teams, subpar teams, and horrible teams. As such, there isn’t much of a return when you bet on a great team to beat a worse team, especially when the great team is playing in its home stadium.
For instance, if an NFL team is a 10-point favorite against an opponent, that team is likely to be around -500 per the moneyline betting odds. That means a $500 moneyline bet on that team would return a $100 profit if the favorite were to win the game. Conversely, in this hypothetical scenario, the underdog would be around +375 on the moneyline betting odds. At that price, a $100 bet would return a tidy $375 profit if the underdog were to pull off the upset and beat the favorite outright.
It doesn’t happen often, but occasionally a regular season NFL game will end in a tie. In the event of a tie, all moneyline bets are refunded and considered a push. Rules changes to how overtimes are conducted have made ties less frequent over the years, but ties still occur from time to time.
Total Betting on the NFL
The explosion of scoring we have seen in the NFL in recent years has also led to an increase in the number of bettors wagering on the total of NFL games. Rather than betting on a team to win or win by a certain number of points, you can bet on the total number of points in a game. This is also called Over/Under betting in some circles.
When you bet the total in an NFL game, you are either betting for there to be more (Over) points than the listed number or less (Under) points than the listed number. The combined score of both teams is what you are betting on when you are making this type of bet.
If the total of a game between the Green Bay Packers and Chicago Bears is 46.5 points, you are betting on there to be 46 or fewer total points if you are betting on the Under. Conversely, if you are betting on the Over, you are betting on there to be 47 or more points. If the final score is Green Bay 27, Chicago 20 then that game has gone Over the total. However, if the final score is Green Bay 24, Chicago 20 then that game has gone Under the total.
Overtime is definitely something to consider when betting on NFL totals. Overtime is always bad for Under bettors, but it can bail Over bettors out of a bet that would have otherwise lost. The most recent changes to the overtime rules help Over bettors even more too, as both teams are guaranteed to have at least one possession in overtime. Previously, teams receiving first in overtime could win the game without playing defense as long as they scored a touchdown. Prior to that, overtime was a simple “first score wins” format that put the team that lost the overtime coin toss at a major disadvantage.
While spread betting, moneyline betting, and total betting are the most common ways to bet on the NFL, there are several other ways to bet on the most popular sport in the United States.
Other Ways to Bet on the NFL
Futures betting involves wagers like betting on a team to win the Super Bowl, betting on a team to win a certain number of games, betting on a player to be named MVP, or betting on a player to post a specific stat line over the course of the season.
Prop betting is where you bet on individual performances or specific outcomes in a game. NFL games have dozens of player props and game props that you can bet on if you want to get a little granular with your betting.
Finally, teaser betting and parlay betting is where you combine multiple potential outcomes into a single wager. With this type of bet, a single loss renders the whole bet a loser, but there is the potential for a prodigious payout when it comes to these kinds of wagers.
