Posted on 9/20/2007 6:51:02 PM

Week 3 NFL Betting Odds: Big chalk in New England

By BetUS Staff

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Spend enough time around NFL betting circles, and eventually you’ll see it all – even a 16.5-point spread.

Only twice last season did the spread reach the magic 14-point mark; the biggest margin of the 2007 campaign was in Week 8, when the Chicago Bears laid 16 points at home to the San Francisco 49ers. They easily covered, 41-10. It only took two games for the New England Patriots to put their stamp on the NFL odds. They’re giving up those 16.5 points on Sunday at Gillette Stadium, when the Buffalo Bills come to town.

NFL bettors appear to be evenly divided on Buffalo’s chances of covering. The football line opened Monday at 16 points, and climbed to 17 on Tuesday before settling in between. Most bettors, though, seem to agree that the final score will eclipse the posted total of 42 points.

The question in both cases is whether the Bills will make much of a dent on the scoreboard. Their offense is ranked 27th in the league in terms of efficiency after two games; J.P. Losman has yet to throw a touchdown pass, as opponents focus downfield on Lee Evans and force Losman to check off time and again. Rookie RB Marshawn Lynch has been Buffalo’s best weapon on offense thus far, although his 4.2 yards per carry won’t frighten the Patriots.

The Bills do, however, have an ace up their sleeve. Their special teams unit is ranked second in the league; Roscoe Parrish returned a punt for a TD in Week 1 against Denver as Buffalo nearly scored the upset victory. This facet of the game is often overlooked by the betting public, a significant reason why the Bills went 10-6 ATS last year. New England’s special teams are ranked 14th overall despite Ellis Hobbs’ record-setting 108-yard kick-off return against the Jets.

We tend to preach the dangers of following a public team, but the Patriots have been so good for so long, they get a free pass. New England was also 10-6 ATS in 2006 and hasn’t gone in the red since six years ago, when the team failed to make the playoffs after winning the Super Bowl. This year’s model is equipped with new stud wide receivers, and sports one of the top linebackers in the league in Adalius Thomas. His arrival is arguably even more important to New England than that of Randy Moss and Friends.

Kick-off is at 1:00 p.m. Eastern time on CBS.

The 2007 NFL betting season is here in full force! If you like to bet on the NFL, you are in the best possible place for online betting. The BetUS sportsbook has NFL odds up on a ton of futures, and you will also find NFL lines up for early games as well. Join BetUS today and we'll help guide you right through to Super Bowl XLII and beyond!