Betting buzz: Rams suffer worst opening loss by preseason Super Bowl favorite in 50 years
Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a sports betting perspective.From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the sports news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our NFL betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation throughout each week of the season.
Sept 11: Rams suffer worst opening loss by preseason Super Bowl favorite in 50 years
by David Purdum
Preseason Super Bowl favorites have lost before, just not as badly as the Los Angeles Rams did Thursday in Melbourne, Australia.
The Rams lost 27-7 to the San Francisco 49ers, becoming the first preseason Super Bowl favorite to lose its opener by 20 or more in the last 50 seasons, according to SportsOddHistory.com. The 1993 Dallas Cowboys lost by 19, and the 2017 New England Patriots and 1987 New York Giants each lost by 15 in their season openers. Both the Cowboys and Patriots would play in the Super Bowl in those seasons, with the Cowboys winning and the Patriots losing, but the Giants failed to make the playoffs.
Los Angeles closed as a 3.5-point favorite over the 49ers and attracted the bulk of the bets and money from bettors. BetMGM reported that 60% of the money bet on the point spread was on the Rams.
The Rams have attracted more than twice as many bets to win the Super Bowl as any other team at DraftKings Sportsbook. They remain the favorites to win the Super Bowl, NFC and NFC West, but their odds dipped from 5-1 to 6-1 after Thursday's loss, and their odds to win the NFC West shifted from -105 to +164.
The 49ers, in turn, improved from +300 to +180 to win the division. The defending-champion Seattle Seahawks moved from +215 to +184 in the tightly-contested NFC West. San Francisco improved from 19-1 to 14-1 to win the Super Bowl at DraftKings.
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