Are you ready for some football!? It doesn’t get more popular than NFL betting action in North America. And while us Canucks sure do love a good old-fashioned Argos vs Ti-Cats slugfest, NFL football betting fans across the world are licking their chops every Sunday, Monday, and Thursday to try and find an edge on NFL betting lines. With NFL betting online, you can practically wager on just about everything.
You can bet on NFL games, player props and futures, all of which will be detailed further below, along with many other NFL betting options. We’ll even throw in a few online NFL betting tips too because we’re kind like that, eh.
2021-2022 will be a historic season with 18 weeks on the schedule instead of the typical 17. Each NFL team will have a 17-game schedule, with each team still getting one bye week per season. Placing NFL bets from the NFL preseason to the regular season, through the playoffs, and onto the Super Bowl is not only fun, but it can also be a pretty sweet money-maker.
NFL Betting Odds: Types of Bets
NFL point spreads, moneylines and OVER/UNDERs are the three most common types of NFL bets. If you’re looking for football betting odds and lines explained, simply scroll down as we touch on all sports betting types below, and how to better understand the odds associated with each of them.
Moneyline Betting
When you bet on a football team to win an NFL game outright, you’re making a moneyline wager. Moneyline bets are also known as a straight-up bets at online sportsbooks, as you are picking one team to win over the other. If the Seattle Seahawks are visiting the Green Bay Packers at the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field, the NFL odds at Bodog will look like:
Green Bay Packers -140
Seattle Seahawks +170
If you bet $100 on Aaron Rodgers’ cheeseheads, you would win $171.43. You would get your $100 back, plus your winnings of $71.43. If you bet $100 on Russell Wilson’s squad, you would win $270.00. You would get your $100 back, plus your winnings of $170.00.
When choosing the “favourite”, there’s less risk of that team losing to the “underdog.” And while betting on “dogs” may be more risky, the reward is much bigger. In this particular case, betting on the Pack is less risky, but comes with a smaller payout, while wagering on the Hawks is more risky, but pays out more.
Point Spread Betting
Typically in NFL betting, the point spread looks something like this:
Kansas City Chiefs -7
Baltimore Ravens +7
These odds indicate that Patrick Mahomes and his Chiefs are favored to beat Lamar Jackson’s Ravens by at least seven points or more. So before the football game kicks-off, you have to decide whether Kansas City will win by a touchdown or more or if the AFC North contenders can keep it within a one-score game.
If you put your money down on KC at -7, and they end up winning the game by a score of 44-38, then that means Baltimore covers the +7 point spread, and you lose your bet. Quoth the raven, nevermore.
Totals: OVER/UNDER Betting
OVER/UNDER betting or totals betting is wagering on the projected score of both NFL teams combined. Oddsmakers set the total at a certain number based on how they predict a game will go. It’s your job to figure out if the final combined score will go over or under the total set by the oddsmakers. For example:
Tampa Bay Buccaneers (Road) vs New Orleans Saints (Home) – Total at 38.5
In this case, you wager on whether the final combined score will go over or under 38.5 points. If this game ends up 20-17 in favour of the Bucs, the combined final score would be 37 points, which means the match went under the total set by the oddsmakers.
Before you go all willy-nilly with your OVER/UNDER bets, let’s explore a few football betting tips first. Prior to placing a totals wager, make sure you do your homework on:
- Stats (offensive and defensive)
- Injury Reports (who’s in and who’s out)
- Game Logs (recent matchup)
- Standings
- Power Rankings
- NFL Betting Trends
- Consensus Picks (NFL public betting)
- Weather Conditions (wind, rain, snow)
Props Betting
NFL prop bets often have very little to do with the final outcome of a game, but are super fun. Online betting sites like Bodog offer popular game and player props like:
- Tom Brady OVER/UNDER 299.5 passing yards
- Josh Allen OVER/UNDER 2.5 passing touchdowns
- Derrick Henry OVER/UNDER 99.5 rushing yards
- DeAndre Hopkins OVER/UNDER 79.5 receiving yards
- Will Baker Mayfield throw an interception against the Pittsburgh Steelers?
- Who will be the first to score a touchdown?
Will Brady throw for 300 yards or more or be held to 299 yards or less? If you bet the UNDER 299.5 and the hall-of-fame quarterback throws for 320 yards, then your UNDER bet loses. Will “Hollywood” throw three touchdowns or more or will he be contained to two or less?
If Josh Allen annihilates the Miami Dolphins with an air assault of four touchdowns, and you bet the OVER 2.5, then your bet wins. These are just a handful of available NFL props. Come Super Bowl time, it’s on another level with well over 300 props to pick from. Some wacky Super Bowl bets you can wager on include:
- Which team will win the coin toss?
- Will it be heads or tails?
- Will the National anthem exceed two minutes?
- Which colour will the Gatorade bath be?
Futures Betting
Futures betting is just that, it’s gambling on future events. An easy example of this would be betting on which NFL team you believe will win the Super Bowl. You can make other popular futures wagers before the NFL season kicks off or even throughout the NFL regular season:
- Division Winner
- Conference Champion
- Regular-season Most Valuable Player (MVP)
- Regular-season Defensive Player of the Year
- NFL Coach of the Year
- NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year
- Team Win Totals
If there’s any downfall to these types of bets, it’s that they take a while to determine whether your wager is a winner. The good news is that when you win an NFL futures bet, the payoff is typically pretty sweet due to often inflated odds.
If you wager $100 on the New England Patriots to hoist the Vince Lombardi Trophy prior to season’s start, and the odds for the Pats to win were +400, you would win $500.00. You would get your $100 back, plus your winnings of $400.00. However, because you bet back in August, you have to wait six months essentially before cashing in any potential profit.
Parlay Betting
Like the Minnesota Vikings’ moneyline, the Carolina Panthers’ point spread, and the Tennessee Titans’ total? No problem! Combine all three bets onto one slip. Be careful though. You need all bets to hit in order for there to be a winning ticket. For example:
- Carolina Panthers -7 vs Atlanta Falcons (-120)
- Minnesota Vikings Moneyline vs Chicago Bears (-170)
- Tennessee Titans vs Houston Texans UNDER 38.5 (-120)
If you bet $100 on this particular parlay, and all three wagers win, you would win a total of $533.82. You get your $100 back plus your $433.82 in winnings. But remember, just one little betting blunder means your bet is a bust. You can even pick two events to occur within the same game.
Let’s say you want to take the Los Angeles Rams to cover the spread at +10 (-120) against the San Francisco 49ers, and throw in an OVER 31.5 (-120) bet for that same game too. If both bets are successful, you would win $336.11. You get your $100 back plus your winnings of $236.11.
Teasers
NFL teasers adjust point spreads to be more in favour of the bettor. Similar to a parlay bet, all of your bets would have to hit in order to win your ticket. But NFL teaser bets let you adjust the preset point spread or totals lines from sports betting sites to lower the level of risk.
National Football League teasers often start at six (6) points and can get as high as 15 points depending on the gambling site. The most common selections are picking two or three teams and teasing NFL lines by 6, 6.5 or 7 points.
Two-Team Parlay: Opening Spreads
| Game | Pick |
| Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles | Dallas -4 |
| Game | Pick |
| Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns | Cincinnati +6 |
Let’s say you like Dallas -4.0 and Cincinnati +6.0, but are concerned that the Cowboys might only win by a field goal or the Bengals might lose by a touchdown. If you couple these two games together in a 7-point teaser, you now have Dak’s “Boys” +3.0 and the Bungals +13.0. Here’s how it now looks:
Two-Team Parlay: New Teaser Spreads
| Game | Pick |
| Dallas Cowboys vs Philadelphia Eagles | Dallas +3 |
| Cincinnati Bengals vs Cleveland Browns | Cincinnati +13 |
Any Dallas win (and even a one- or two-point loss) is now a cover, and Cincinnati is covered in many more circumstances as well. This comes at a cost though because teasers move the line so favourably in the direction of your choice. Two-team parlays usually pay +260 at most NFL betting websites, while two-team teasers pay -130. NFL bettors minimize their risk, but minimize their payout opportunities as well.
Live NFL Betting
Live NFL betting is when you bet on an NFL game after it already started. With in-play NFL betting, you’ll see live NFL lines for every drive, and practically every prop option imaginable. Live betting odds include:
- Will Matt Ryan complete his next pass?
- Do the Detroit Lions score a touchdown on this drive?
- Will the Denver Broncos force a Las Vegas Raiders turnover?
Available in-play odds depend on the time of game, whether there are any on-field injuries, what the score is at that particular moment, etc. Live betting markets are little bit more for the experienced bettor as the live odds move rather quickly.
NFL Draft
Don’t forget about the NFL Draft when it comes to your NFL betting experience. Online sports betting sites offer plenty of great NFL draft prop bets for the college football kids coming up. Bookmakers will post draft props with odds on:
- Who will be the first overall pick?
- Will the No. 1 pick hug his mother or father first?
- How many quarterbacks will be drafted in the first round?
- How many running backs will be drafted in the first round?
- Who will be the first running back drafted?
- How many wide receivers will be drafted in the first round?
- Who will be the first wide receiver drafted?
- Where will Player X be drafted?
Ready to Make Your Best NFL Betting Picks?
When making your National Football League picks, do plenty of research, especially when it comes to underdogs and how much home-field advantage factors in. Examine teams’ schedules, including their previous losses. But most importantly, have fun with it, and always remember to gamble responsibly.
