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The NFL is into the new year, and all eight Wild Card round teams have gotten at least one practice under their belt. The Patriots, Titans, Texans, and Bills all got started on Tuesday and have two practices complete. The Saints, Vikings, Eagles, and Seahawks all got in their first practice of the week on Wednesday.
None of the eight teams brought any big surprises with their first practice participation reports. Most notably, Miles Sanders did not practice at all due to his sprained ankle, but the Thursday and Friday reports will be bigger for the Eagles running back. Titans wide receiver Adam Humphries was the only repeat DNP, but he hasn’t played since Week 13, so this is not surprising.
We’re back with a second look at how the betting public views the four Wild Card games, courtesy of DraftKings Sportsbook. On Wednesday, we looked at how the public has been betting each of the games between the point spread, point total, and money line. Today’s report focuses exclusively on the point spread.
Bills @ Texans
The Bills are still getting the majority of the handle, but the percentage of tickets bet now favors the Texans. This has helped bring the Bills handle majority down from 64 percent to 53 percent. The line remains at 2.5.
Titans @ Patriots
A day after the Titans were getting a majority of point spread money, the Patriots now have the slight edge on the handle. The majority of bettors are still backing Tennessee to cover the point spread (+5).
Vikings @ Saints
The spread remains lop-sided, but it’s come down a bit. What was 82 percent of the handle in favor of New Orleans is down to 72 percent. With that, we’ve seen the point spread come down half a point to 7.5.
Seahawks @ Eagles
The Seahawks continue to be heavily backed, and the handle split has actually gone up from 85 percent to 86 percent. The public loves the Seahawks in this one.
Wild Card betting splits (Thursday)
| Teams | Spread | % Handle | % Bets |
|---|---|---|---|
| Teams | Spread | % Handle | % Bets |
| Bills | 2.5 | 53% | 46% |
| Houston | -2.5 | 47% | 54% |
| Titans | 5 | 48% | 54% |
| Patriots | -5 | 52% | 46% |
| Vikings | 7.5 | 28% | 26% |
| Saints | -7.5 | 72% | 74% |
| Seahawks | -2 | 86% | 78% |
| Eagles | 2 | 14% | 22% |
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