NFL Moving Odds Week 3: Ravens Bets Flip Spread vs. Cowboys
If you think of an NFL team’s head coach as a pirate ship’s captain out on the wild sea, it’s always best if they remain cool under pressure, resisting the temptation to make rash or impulsive reactions as they navigate through storms and countless other obstacles, trying to get their crew to where X marks the spot on the treasure map.
Act too quickly by pulling your ship off course or bailing on your initial trip plan too early and you just may end up getting pancaked by an iceberg or blindsided by a rouge wave.
That’s what Baltimore Ravens head coach John Harbaugh is trying to avoid right now with his team heading into a Week 3 date with the Dallas Cowboys at 0-2 both straight up and against the spread.
It wasn’t supposed to play out like this for the Ravens, who were one of the more popular Super Bowl picks to begin the season at +1000. Now they’ve already dipped to +1400 as bettors started to pull on their lifejackets.
For what it’s worth history isn’t exactly on their side right now. Since 2020 when the NFL expanded to 14 playoff teams, just two of 32 teams that began 0-2 have qualified for the post-season (Cincinnati 2022, Houston 2023).
However, just as it looked like all hope was lost and this team was destined for Davey Jones’ locker, it appears as though bettors are throwing this team a lifeline.
Full Week 3 NFL Odds.
Baltimore Ravens bettors move spread vs. Cowboys
When this line popped up to kick off Week 3, the Dallas Cowboys were pegged as 1-point home favourites. That line didn’t last long. Even with the Ravens dangerously close to pounding the panic button, early bettors hopped on that spread and flipped it Baltimore -1.
Baltimore Ravens at Dallas Cowboys
Bettors behind Panthers benching Bryce Young for Andy Dalton
It only took two games for the Panthers to pull the plug on second-year quarterback Bryce Young – at least for now – in favour of veteran Andy Dalton. This seems more like a franchise realizing it handed their former No. 1 overall pick the keys to the car before he passed his Driver Education test. Young passed for just 245 yards over two games with no touchdowns, three interceptions, while carding the worst QB rating in the league at 44.1.
Before the news of the quarterback change came out, the hometown Las Vegas Raiders opened as 7-point favourites against the visiting Panthers. Now you’ll see Vegas down to -5.
Carolina Panthers at Las Vegas Raiders
No Tua, no problem for Miami Dolphins bettors
It was tough to watch Miami quarterback Tua Tagovailoa suffer yet another concussion last week. Now that he’s sidelined indefinitely, it’ll be Skylar Thompson under centre. Thompson struggled in relief after coming on for Tagovailoa, but this is his third year with Miami’s system, so he’s had plenty of reps behind the scenes. Another positive sign was seeing two starting offensive lineman back at practice on Thursday, along with all four of the team’s active running backs.
Oddsmakers had the Raiders as 6.5-point favourites at the open but now it’s down to Las Vegas -4.5.
Miami Dolphins at Seattle Seahawks
Bears bettors still in Caleb Williams’ corner?
It hasn’t been a great debut for Chicago’s rookie quarterback Caleb Williams and the team’s re-tooled offence. That’s low-hanging fruit. Still, despite a terrible effort from the offensive line, the Bears hung around with a very good Houston Texans team on Sunday Night Football and their defence looks as good as advertised. If the D continues to hold up its end of the bargain, and Chicago actually figures out a way to give Williams a millisecond in the pocket, this club has a chance to go on a run with dates against the Rams, Panthers, Jaguars, and Commanders coming up.
The Colts came into this matchup as a field-goal favourite, but that line has dipped to Indianapolis -1.5 since the open.