NFL odds turned upside down after Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger injuries

Covers.comSep 16, 2019, 2:46 PM EDT

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It was a bad Sunday for future Hall-of-Fame quarterbacks, as Drew Brees and Ben Roethlisberger went down with injuries that are stirring up the NFL odds for Week 3 and beyond.

Brees left the New Orleans Saints’ highly-anticipated matchup with the Los Angeles Rams with a thumb injury that will require surgery, leaving him on the sidelines for at least six weeks. Roethlisberger was forced out of the Pittsburgh Steelers’ loss to the Seattle Seahawks with an elbow injury that will end his 2019 season just two games into the schedule.

New Orleans’ Week 3 odds for the team’s road game against the Seattle Seahawks were off the board as of Monday morning. According to oddsmakers at the Las Vegas Superbook at Westgate, if Brees was healthy, the line would be New Orleans +1. However, with Brees out, the Superbook projects a spread of Saints +5.5 or higher with No. 2 passer Teddy Bridgewater expected to start.

As for Pittsburgh’s Week 3 trip to play the San Francisco 49ers, sportsbooks are hanging the Steelers as 1-point underdogs. Covers’ senior writer in Las Vegas, Patrick Everson, reports that oddsmakers priced Roethlisberger to be worth about 6.5 points to Pittsburgh’s spreads, due to a less-experienced backup in QB Mason Rudolph.

The Week 3 NFL odds weren’t the only lines moving in Vegas upon the news of these quarterback injuries. The Saints’ odds to win the Super Bowl slipped from as far as 9/1 to 20/1 to win the Big Game while the Steelers dropped from 20/1 to 50/1 at William Hill sportsbooks in Nevada and New Jersey.

Divisional odds were also on the move Monday morning. New Orleans remains the favorite to win the NFC South, set at -120 at Caesars Entertainment sportsbooks. However, the Atlanta Falcons (+165), Carolina Panthers (+700), and Tampa Bay Buccaneers (+1,100) all saw their divisional futures adjust.

Over in the AFC North, Pittsburgh is now +1,600 to win the division behind the Baltimore Ravens (-200) and Cleveland Browns (+170) while the Cincinnati Bengals are listed as +3,000 long shots at Caesars’ sportsbooks.

Canucks vs Golden Knights picks and predictions for Game 1

Covers.comAug 22, 2020, 9:21 PM EDT

Perhaps no team has been more fun to follow during the NHL playoffs than the Vancouver Canucks, and hockey bettors can still get the Canucks at +1,300 to hoist Lord Stanley’s cup. Vancouver is coming off a thrilling series win against the defending champion St. Louis Blues, but now a much more difficult challenge awaits. The Vegas Golden Knights are +350 favorites to win it all, and they’ve certainly looked the part while dropping only one playoff contest.

Game 1 of this series gets underway Sunday, so we’re here to bring you our NHL picks and predictions in this Western Conference semifinal showdown.

Vancouver Canucks vs Vegas Golden Knights betting preview

Starting Goalies

Canucks: Jacob Markstrom – playoffs – 7-3, 2.44 GAA, .929 SV% (season – 23-16, 2.75 GAA, .918 SV%)

Golden Knights: Robin Lehner – playoffs – 5-1, 2.44 GAA, .904 SV% (season – 19-10, 2.89, .920 SV%)

If this game was actually played in Las Vegas, then Markstrom could easily spend a few hours performing with Cirque du Soleil. The 30-year-old dazzled against Blues with an eye-opening array of acrobatic saves and an impressive 7-3 record. He’ll need to provide more of the same against a dangerous Vegas squad.

The Knights will likely roll with Robin Lehner, who has taken over the spot as Vegas’s starter in the crease—and rightfully so. Still, the Knights have the luxury of having Marc-Andre Fleury as their “backup.” The five-time All-Star matched an NHL record this season with his 14th consecutive playoff appearance.

Injuries

Vancouver: Tyler Myers D (out), Tyler Toffoli RW (out), Micheal Ferland LW (out), Josh Leivo LW (out)

Vegas: Tomas Nosek LW (out)

Betting Trend to Know

Canucks are 0-6 in their last six Sunday games. Find the latest NHL betting trends for Canucks vs. Golden Knights.

MONEYLINE PICK

The Canucks have been a force with the extra man during the postseason, converting 26.2% of their power plays. While the Knights are known for their offensive firepower, it’s their stingy defense that allows them to suffocate opponents—as evidenced by an 86.4% penalty kill during their playoff run. Vancouver is the only team in the league to never beat Vegas in regulation, going 0-11 all time. That’s something I just can’t ignore.

PREDICTION: Vegas ML (-175)

OVER/UNDER PICK

Each team is filled with loads of offensive talent. Vancouver’s Bo Horvat and J.T. Miller have combined for 11 goals thus far. Elias Pettersson has racked up 13 points, tied with Colorado’s Nathan MacKinnon for the playoff lead.

The Knights can match Vancouver’s scorers, but they’re more balanced—Shea Theodore, Alex Tuch and Mark Stone have each lit the lamp four times during the postseason. The difference is on defense, where Vancouver has allowed the most high-danger chances of all remaining playoff teams.

PREDICTION: Over 5.5 (-110)

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PROP PICK

Though I like Vegas to win, I wouldn’t be surprised if the Canucks kept it close and continued their offensive success. I’ll take a flyer on Vancouver scoring at least three goals.

PREDICTION: Canucks total goals Over 2.5 (-100)

Canucks vs Golden Knights Betting Card

Vegas ML (-175)
Over 5.5 (-110)
Canucks total goals Over 2.5 (-100)

NHL Parlays

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Use our NHL parlay calculator to create your own parlays and see their potential payouts.

Verlander injury shuffles Astros’ MLB futures odds

Covers.comJul 27, 2020, 7:53 PM EDT

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MLB betting got a shake-up Sunday afternoon, specifically on World Series odds and AL pennant odds, with news that Astros star pitcher Justin Verlander could miss the rest of the season – or at least a significant chunk of it – with an arm injury.

Initial reports suggested Verlander had an elbow ailment, but both he and manager Dusty Baker quickly denied that. Baker called it a forearm strain and said that Verlander would be re-evaluated in “a couple of weeks.” The reigning AL Cy Young winner pitched a solid six innings in an 8-2 Opening Day rout of the Seattle Mariners on Friday.

Verlander’s injury led oddsmakers to shuffle futures book odds on the defending AL champions. Covers checked in on the MLB odds moves with a couple of Las Vegas sportsbooks.

How does Verlander’s injury affect Astros’ World Series odds?

At CG Technology books, risk analyst Rich Zanco said the Astros quickly moved from +1,200 to +1,800 in World Series futures. The SuperBook at Westgate also had Houston pegged +1,200 prior to Sunday’s news and initially went to +1,600, then dialed it a little further to +1,800.

However, there were apparently buyers on the Astros at that point, prompting the SuperBook to reel the price in to +1,400.

How does Verlander’s injury affect Astros’ American League odds?

In AL pennant futures, the Astros initially moved from +600 to +800 at The SuperBook, then ticked back to +700.

World Series odds

Team	Odds to win
Los Angeles Dodgers	+350
New York Yankees	+350
Houston Astros	+600
Atlanta Braves	+1,600
Minnesota Twins	+1,600
Tampa Bay Rays	+1,800
Washington Nationals	+2,000
Cleveland Indians	+2,000
New York Mets	+2,000
Chicago Cubs	+2,000
Oakland Athletics	+2,000
St. Louis Cardinals	+2,500
Cincinnati Reds	+2,500
San Diego Padres	+2,500
Philadelphia Phillies	+3,000
Chicago White Sox	+3,000
Los Angeles Angels	+3,000
Milwaukee Brewers	+4,000
Boston Red Sox	+5,000
Arizona Diamondbacks	+6,000
Colorado Rockies	+8,000
Toronto Blue Jays	+10,000
Texas Rangers	+10,000
Pittsburgh Pirates	+20,000
Detroit Tigers	+20,000
San Francisco Giants	+30,000
Seattle Mariners	+30,000
Miami Marlins	+30,000
Baltimore Orioles	+30,000
Kansas City Royals	+30,000

Odds courtesy The SuperBook