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In the song “The Gambler,” the great Kenny Rogers once sang, “You gotta know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em, know when to walk away, know when to run.”
One element not addressed in the song is the double down.
Week 1 of the NFL has come and gone, and it’s a time to reflect on some season-long bets — and evaluate if new circumstances mean it’s worth adding to them.
If you are confident in convictions you made before the season, there are ample opportunities to tail teams that you liked but lost their first week — and fade teams that you didn’t like, but won.
Three such opportunities that stand out from my vantage are as follows:
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Packers to win NFC North +120 (PointsBet)
Before Green Bay lost to the Vikings, the line on them to win the NFC North for the fourth consecutive year hovered between -155 and -180.
The Packers are still integrating offensive pieces. They were missing star offensive tackle David Bakhtiari and their presumed top receiver, Allen Lazard.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are +125 to win the NFC North after losing Week 1 to the Vikings. Getty ImagesThe scoreboard showed that they lost by 16 points, but they lost a touchdown when rookie wide receiver Christian Watson dropped a ball that would’ve led to an easy score, and there was another time where they were stuffed on fourth and goal from the 1-yard line.
To be sure, they deserved to lose the game, but not necessarily as dramatically as the final score indicated.
If you believed in the Packers a week ago, they have a much better price today.
Patriots to make playoffs +230 (DraftKings).
It is very fashionable to be down on the Patriots.
The New England Patriots are +230 to make the playoffs after losing Week 1 to the Dolphins. Getty ImagesThe offensive coordinator situation with Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, two men who failed as head coaches, has been easy to poke fun at for months.
Every report out of training camp indicated discombobulation in New England.
Before the season, the Patriots were about +160 to make the playoffs. Doubling down on them at +230 effectively can serve as a contrarian belief that Bill Belichick knows what he’s doing and will figure out a way to right the ship with the personnel he’s got by the time apple picking season turns toward the holidays.
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Chargers to miss the playoffs +210 (Caesars).
This is another contrarian pick, as the Chargers were preseason darlings in the media and then proceeded to win their first game, versus the Las Vegas Raiders.
We’ve seen the Chargers start hot and fade before.
Last year, they began the season 4-1, but finished 9-8 and missed the playoffs.
The last time the Chargers made the playoffs was 2018, which predates the Justin Herbert era.
This is a bet where you do not necessarily have to believe it is probable that the Chargers do not make the playoffs; there just needs to be a greater than one-third chance of that happening for it to be positive expected value.
Before the season, the Chargers hovered around +150 to miss the playoffs.









