NFL Week 3 Opening Lines and Leans

Great Poets Steal: Article brought to you from Linemakers.com

Get to work. Study hard. Let's right this ship.

As point spreads for Week 3 of the NFL season were posted Sunday night in Las Vegas, here some games that caught our attention: the Patriots are laying just a touchdown at home against the Bucs; the Cards took significant early action for their upcoming trip to New Orleans; the Dolphins are favored over the Falcons; and the Ravens are getting points in a revenge spot at home vs. the Texans.

Here’s the full Week 3 card, with opening Vegas consensus lines and some notes on early action:

Chiefs at Eagles (-3.5, 49.5)

Kansas City, 2-0 after hanging on for the win but non-cover at home against Dallas, opened as a field-goal plus underdog in Philly, who lost a 33-30 shootout to San Diego on Sunday. The LVH opened the Eagles -3.5, other Vegas books hung -3 with extra vig. William Hill saw a bit of early Philly action and moved the price from -3 (-120) to -3 (-125) Sunday night.

Chargers at Titans (-3.5, 44)

Tennessee nearly pulled off a second-straight upset on the road in Houston, as the Texans needed OT to beat them. Now, the Titans are favored at home vs. a Chargers club coming off a win in Philly after a short week. This game opened as low as -3, at the Wynn.

Browns at Vikings (-3.5, 41)

Bettors laid this early line, which was pushed up to -4 at the LVH and William Hill. Both teams will be looking to avoid 0-2 starts.

Bucs at Patriots (-7, 45)

This line indicates some lost respect on New England, who have looked less-than-impressive in getting off to a 2-0 start, struggling to wins against the Bills and Jets. Tampa Bay is 0-2 after losing at home to New Orleans Sunday.

Texans (-2.5, 44.5) at Ravens

The LVH opened at this number, and William Hill moved to it after originally hanging Houston -2. Baltimore will have revenge in mind, as an injury-depleted Ravens squad was blown out by Houston, 43-13, last October.

Rams at Cowboys (-4, 46.5)

Dallas has covered in both its games this season, as a late Dan Bailey field goal got the cash for Cowboys backers Sunday vs. K.C. St. Louis, meanwhile, is 0-2 ATS, losing by seven as a 5.5-point dog in Atlanta. The Rams were 7-1 ATS on the road last season. The Cowboys, the Week 1 cover against the Giants notwithstanding, have been a money-losing proposition as home favorites in recent seasons.

Cardinals at Saints (-9, 50)

The LVH’s opening number proved much too rich for bettors’ tastes, as they snapped up the points and pushed the line down the ladder to 7.5. William Hill opened 8.5 and was at 7.5 by later Sunday night. UNDER money pushed the total down to 48.5 at WH.

Lions at Redskins (-2.5, 49)

We’re seeing quite the variety of numbers Monday morning – the line is anywhere from Washington -1 to -2.5 The LVH bounced around quite a bit on its own Sunday night, as Detroit money pushed the spread all the way down to -1 before Washington buy-back moved it back to the original price of -2.5.

Packers (-1, 49) at Bengals

Aaron Rodgers led Green Bay to a rather easy home win over Washington. Cincy is a touchdown favorite at home against Pittsburgh on Monday.

Giants at Panthers (-3, 45)

Both teams are in 0-2 holes. New York backers took the +3 at the LVH and the 2.5s at William Hill, which moved the number to 2. These teams played in Carolina in Week 3 last season as well, and the Giants rolled, 36-7, as 2.5-point Thursday night dogs.

Falcons at Dolphins (-2, 44)

Another game with a range of opening prices – Miami opened as low as -1 at the Wynn and as high as 2.5 at the LVH. The Dolphins are off to an impressive start, winning their first two games, both on the road.

Colts at 49ers (-10, 46)

Both teams are 1-1 after losing on Sunday, Indy at home to Miami, and San Fran in embarrassing fashion in Seattle.

Jaguars at Seahawks (-17, 40)

This is about a lopsided an NFL game as possible. That's a lot of points, though.

Bills at Jets (-2.5, 39)

A matchup of 1-1 AFC East teams. Buffalo pulled one out late at home vs. Carolina on Sunday.

Bears (-1.5, 41) at Steelers

Chicago has won both its games by very narrow margins and finds itself an early favorite on the road in Pittsburgh for next week’s Sunday nighter.

Raiders at Broncos (-14.5, 50)

Denver is looking scary early, winning going away against its first two opponents. A home win over Jacksonville won’t impress many, but Oakland is this close to a 2-0 start, as they nearly completed an upset over the Colts in Week 1.