NFL betting: Browns-Raiders line movement continues

Because of the COVID-19 cases on the Cleveland Browns’ roster, their game with the Las Vegas Raiders was moved from Saturday to Monday night. And with the Browns’ roster in such a tenuous position, the point spread has been all over the place since it was first posted early last week.

The Browns opened as 6.5-point favorites at BetMGM but that number continued to move as more cases rolled in. By Thursday, the Raiders were 1.5-point favorites. But then the NFL moved the game to Monday and the line swung back to Browns -3 by Monday morning.

Later Monday, though, it was clear that the Browns’ top two quarterbacks — Baker Mayfield and Case Keenum — would be unable to clear the NFL’s COVID-19 protocols, leaving third-stringer Nick Mullens as the starter. The Browns were able to activate starting safety John Johnson III, but Mayfield and Keenum are among a group of 22 players (including 10 starters) on the reserve/COVID-19 list. Also unavailable is head coach Kevin Stefanski.

As a result, the Raiders are 2.5-point favorites at BetMGM at the time of this writing. With so much uncertainty, the betting has been pretty even.

According to BetMGM, 53% of the bets have come in on the Raiders to cover the spread but the money is split at 50-50. The total, which opened at 43, now sits at 40.5. Most of the action is on the over — 74% of the bets and 90% of the money.

What about the Vikings vs. Bears game?

In what was supposed to be the lone Monday Night Football action, the Chicago Bears are 6.5-point underdogs at home against the Minnesota Vikings. The Vikings, fighting for a potential playoff berth at 6-7, opened as 4.5-point favorites, but that number has moved two points.

According to BetMGM, most bettors are siding with Minnesota. As of Monday morning, 66% of the bets and 69% of the money were on the Vikings. The Vikings are just 2-4 against the spread as a favorite this year, including 1-2 ATS as a road favorite.

The Bears, meanwhile, are 2-8 against the spread this year as an underdog, including 0-4 ATS as a home dog.

With the total, most of the action is on the over. The total opened at 42.5 but has moved to 45.5 with 70% of the bets and 85% of the money on the over. All three of the Vikings games as a road favorite have gone over the total.

In Chicago’s 10 games as underdog, the results are split evenly — five overs, five unders.