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NFL Predictions Today: Explaining NFL Predictions Ahead of 2023 Season
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With the NFL offseason fully underway, let’s break down NFL predictions to be prepared for the start of football season this fall!
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What is an NFL Prediction?
An NFL prediction can be viewed as the same as a bet. These can be wide-encompassing, ranging from something as simple as betting on who you think is going to win, to something a little more complicated like a prop bet.
The terminology necessary to understand NFL betting will be explained below, but all that is needed to know about an NFL prediction is that it is essentially identifying something you believe will happen and betting on it.
How to Bet on NFL Picks & Predictions
When betting on the NFL, there are three main markets (spread, moneyline, total), as well as prop bets and alternate markets.
When you bet on an NFL point spread, you’re betting on the margin of victory (or defeat) as opposed to the outright winner of the game. Let’s say you bet the Los Angels Rams -3.5 vs. the Chicago Bears. This would mean that to win your bet the Rams would need to win by at least 4 points.
Conversely, if you bet the Bears +3.5 they don’t actually need to win the game, they just need to lose by less than 3 points or win outright. This is called covering the spread, and it is applied to both favorites (- next to point spread, called “giving points”) and underdogs (+ sign next to point spread, called “getting points”). If your NFL point spread bet wins, your team covered the spread.
A moneyline is the most simple concept to follow in sports betting, in terms of different bet types. It is simply betting on a team to win the game outright. Your team could win by 1 point or 50 points, it could require overtime or be done in regulation — all that you are betting on is the direct outcome of the game.
The team with a – sign next to its odds is said to be the favorite and the team with the + sign next to its odds is the underdog. Speaking of odds, while the concept is simple the strategy of betting moneylines gets a little more complex. The odds directly determine how much you need to stake to win a certain amount of money.
If the Rams are -275 favorites over the Bears, you would have to bet $275 to win only $100. Conversely, the Bears are +200 underdogs a $100 bet would net you a $200 profit if they were to win.
Betting an over/under or total in the NFL is one of the more popular types of bets you can make. A total, or over/under is a bet on the combined total score of the game (hence being called totals) of both teams. If the total for the Rams vs. Bears example above is set at 41, you are betting that at the end of the game the total of the Rams points and the Bears points would be over or under (hence being called over/under) the number of 41.
If the final score is Rams 21, Bears 14, the game is said to have gone under (total of 35 less than 41). If the final is Rams 28, Bears 21 the game is said to have gone over (total of 49 > 41).
Where to Bet on NFL Picks & Predictions?
The NFL is the most popular sports league in the United States. As such, all major sportsbooks accept NFL bets. Two of the most popular are FanDuel and DraftKings, which offer daily fantasy sports games in addition to traditional sportsbook betting.
We recommend signing up for every book you possibly can! The links below will take you directly to the sportsbooks signup page:
How to Pick the Best NFL Prediction Bets?
The importance of getting the best odds on your NFL bets cannot be overstated. Line shopping is a strategy used by bettors to find the sportsbook that is offering them the best odds on the bet they want to make.
OddsJam has the best odds comparison tool on the market, which you can find by clicking here. We process over 1 MILLION odds per minute from every major sportsbook in the U.S. This means we have the most up-to-date, real-time odds to help you make sure you not only get the best odds on your bet but also spot discrepancies between different sportsbooks moving their odds early or late.
Subscribe to OddsJam’s YouTube Channel and Never Miss Out on the Top Plays, Tips and Action!
In the NFL, getting the best line can be the difference between winning and losing your money and/or your bet. Let’s say you want to bet on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers to beat the Buffalo Bills.
One sportsbook has their moneyline odds at -200, another has them at -189. One bet requires you to bet $200 to win $100, while the other only requires you to bet $189 to win $100. To be a profitable sports bettor over time you must be getting the best odds available to you.
Let’s say you want to bet the Buccaneers point spread against the Bills. One sportsbook has them at -3, and another has them at -3.5. If the Buccaneers win by 3 points you would have pushed at the first sportsbook, but lost at the second. Line shopping is important across every bet type including Totals or Over/Unders, Player Props, Game Props, Futures and more!
