The National Football League returned this weekend as another exciting campaign got underway across the United States. The 105th renewal of American Football’s best-loved competition attracted a global audience with sports fans across the US, who were joined by friends from Canada, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Australia, and further afield. An explosive first round proved to be worth the wait with high-scoring games, show-reel touchdowns, and upsets galore.
Following a summer spent studying the stats, tracking the trades, and making predictions at the top NFL betting websites, fans were back in the thick of the action. Major bookmakers in Las Vegas and beyond offered a pre-season Super Bowl market that proved more popular than ever before. As legalized online sports betting continues to sweep the nation, experts predict the 2024/25 NFL season will be the most bet-on and watched in history. It could also be the closest run race in a generation.
The odds currently available suggest traders are struggling to predict the winner, and there’s a strong case for four or more teams to finish on the top step. That’s great news for gamblers eager to take advantage of the uncertainty by picking a champion at attractive odds. But which team will blaze a trail of glory to the Super Bowl LIX championship at Caesars Superdome in New Orleans, Louisiana, next February? That remains to be seen, but one thing is guaranteed this term: we’ll have great fun finding out.
Did the opening weekend results give much away? Nothing was decided on matchday one, but fans did get a sneak peek at what to expect in the coming weeks and months. Keep reading as our content team dissects the weekend eye-catchers, highlights the standout performers, and checks the updated odds ahead of the next round.
It’s an important season in the history of the Kansas City Chiefs, who are pushing for a threepeat. Andy Reid’s men have won each of the previous two championships, beating the Philadelphia Eagles by 38 points to 35 at Super Bowl LVII and the San Francisco 49ers 25-22 at Super Bowl LVIII. No team has ever won three on the bounce, meaning Kansas City stands on the cusp of greatness. Will they deliver the goods? The latest Super Bowl outright betting odds have them as the most likely champions.
All eyes were on GEHA Field at Arrowhead Stadium on Thursday evening as Kansas played the Baltimore Ravens, lifting the curtain on a brand-new season. Fans and critics alike wanted to see if Reid’s troops had the character to get off to a winning start and show they were genuine contenders for three in a row. The team didn’t disappoint their home fans, but they were pushed hard by a dogged and determined Ravens side that had its mind set on spoiling the party.
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There was little between the teams in the opening exchanges, and the first quarter ended with the rivals tied at seven points each, setting the standard for the rest of the game. Kansas knew they had to respond and answered the call by pulling clear and winning the second and third quarters. The current champions edged the second period by six points to three before impressing with a 7-0 win in the third. The Ravens rallied with a 10-7 victory in the third but missed a late chance to turn the game on its head.
What did we learn at Arrowhead Stadium? NFL fans saw this Kansas team has guts and an unrelenting will to win, but Baltimore’s near-miss shouldn’t be ignored. They came within a whisker of causing an upset. Millions of sports fans across the globe saw the underdogs come within millimeters of a game-saving touchdown. The pain of such a close shave was evident, but Baltimore will learn from the experience, and that hurt will help drive their push for the playoffs. There’s certainly more to come from the Ravens.
Eagles beat the Packers
The Philadelphia Eagles, the Super Bowl LVII runners-up, have been determined to make amends since missing out on the prize by just three points at State Farm Stadium in Arizona. They failed to find that improvement last season, but fans have high hopes for the campaign ahead, and the betting odds make them contenders. The Eagles understood the importance of bagging a week one win and got their wish but were made to work for the result.
Football enthusiasts enjoyed a dramatic game at Neo Quimica Arena, where the Philadelphia Eagles beat the Green Bay Packers 34-29, and the match was every bit as exciting as the scoreline suggests. Pre-match predictions struggled to separate the teams, and it looked like the Packers would enjoy a strong win when racing into a 6-0 lead in the first quarter. The Eagles looked in a state of shock for much of that first spell before deciding to fight fire with fire. An explosive second quarter produced 30 points as the Eagles got back into the game with a 17-13 win. A breathless start, but there was more to come.
With Green Bay leading 19-17 at the break, the scene was set for a stunning second half, and the Eagles started stronger. They were punch-perfect when opening with a 14-7 quarter and showed the defensive resilience needed to protect their hard-won advantage, ending 3-3 in the fourth. It’s easy to be impressed by the offensive qualities of both teams at Neo Quimica Arena, but it was the Eagles’ defense near the end that impressed us the most.
Updated odds
Following the first weekend of results, the outright gambling odds didn’t change much. The Kansas City Chiefs remain the favorites, and they sit ahead of their nearest rivals, the San Francisco 49ers, two teams that impressed on matchday one.
The Baltimore Ravens are third in the outright list, ahead of the Detroit Lions, who have also attracted attention. Teams with an outside chance of challenging include the Baltimore Ravens and the Houston Texans.
