NFL Week 8 betting roundup: Favorites score more big wins, Jets cause chaos

On a Sunday when eight of 11 games featured sizable spreads -- including five of a touchdown or more -- sportsbook executives approached kickoff with a ton of money line parlays hanging over their heads.

The Dolphins (+7 at Atlanta) and Jets (+5.5 at Cincinnati) winning outright spoiled some of those money line parlays. But easy wins and covers by Buffalo (-7.5), Philadelphia (-7.5), New England (-7) and Indianapolis (-14.5) gave the public another winning Sunday.

Favorites went 8-2 ATS and Overs went 7-1-2 entering Sunday Night Football. That's a recipe recreational bettors love.

"There was a notably lopsided handle across several of the [early] games, with the Bills, Patriots, Falcons, Eagles and Bengals all attracting substantial action on both straight wagers and parlay tickets," Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook, told CBS Sports. "This was hardly surprising given their opponents the Panthers, Browns, Dolphins, Giants and Jets each struggled to inspire confidence in the market. With five of the six games going Over the total, it ultimately proved to be a favorable [early slate] for customers, despite the upsets in Atlanta and Cincinnati."

"In the [late] afternoon slate, the Buccaneers and Colts taking care of business against the two worst teams in the league [Saints, Titans] also was a good result for our bettors," Feazel added.

At the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, executives likewise cheered the Jets' 39-38 comeback win over the Bengals and the Dolphins' 34-10 shellacking of Atlanta.

"Too many favorites [covered] to have a real good day but it was fine overall," said John Murray, vice president of race and sports. "The Dolphins and Jets saved it."

It was a similar story at BetMGM.

"The Dolphins' win was our biggest outcome, and second would have been the Jets," BetMGM Trading Manager Christian Cipollini told CBS Sports. "Looks like we ended up doing okay. If the Jets don't come back, that game might have swung it the other way with moneyline parlays. [But] I'm sure there are plenty of bettors out there who had a great day looking at how the slate turned out." 

Patriots keep cashing

Not only has New England won five straight, the Patriots have covered each game with relative ease. New England handled the Browns 32-13 on Sunday, and the 7-point spread wasn't in doubt in the fourth quarter. During their win streak, the Pats have covered by an average of 12 points.

"The Patriots keep burying us," Murray said. "What year is this?"

Murray added that the public "loves teams that win and win big, and that means high-scoring teams. Drake Maye looks like a franchise player and they seem to win big every week. They've also had a string of games against very bad teams -- the teams the public likes to bet against!"

New England has defeated Carolina, Buffao, New Orleans, Tennessee and Cleveland in succession. Bookmakers opened the Pats as 5-point favorites against visiting Atlanta in Week 9.

Super Bowl movers

After yet another blowout win, Daniel Jones and the Colts sit atop the AFC with a 7-1 mark. That prompted Caesars Sportsbook to continue lowering Indy's Super Bowl odds, from 12-1 to 10-1.

The Colts still sit behind the Chiefs (+540), Lions (+650), Bills (+750), Packers (+800) and Eagles (+900) on the Super Bowl odds board.

Caesars also lowered the Ravens from 28-1 to 22-1 following their 30-16 win over Chicago, with Lamar Jackson potentially returning Thursday at Miami.

The book raised San Francisco from 20-1 to 30-1, and Dallas from 70-1 to 100-1.

Survivor pool carnage

More than half of the remaining 4,210 Circa Survivor entries were eliminated Sunday when the Falcons (1,387 entries) and Bengals (765 entries) got upset. Eighty-one entries are pending on the Chiefs.

This reporter was among the 765 who trusted Joe Flacco and Zac Taylor to get by the winless Jets. But Cincinnati's non-existent defense gave up 7.2 yards per play to a team missing Garrett Wilson, and a fourth-down drop by No. 3 receiver Andrei Iosivas (his third) ended the Bengals' hopes.

If Kansas City beats Washington on Monday Night Football, 2,058 entries will advance to Week 9. They are playing for an $18.7 million prize.