The surge of COVID-19 cases in the NFL this week has caused some significant line movement and prompted some sportsbooks to halt betting on impacted games.
Caesars Sportsbook briefly took the Raiders-Browns game off the board Wednesday, after news that Cleveland quarterback Baker Mayfield had tested positive for COVID-19. Mayfield is among 14 Browns players, in addition to coach Kevin Stefanski, who have been placed on the reserve/COVID-19 list in the past two days, according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter. Mayfield and Stefanski must test negative twice by Saturday to be available against the Raiders.
The Browns began the week as 5.5-point favorites over the Raiders. The line began dropping Tuesday, as the team’s first positive COVID-19 tests were revealed. The line was down to Cleveland -3 prior to the Mayfield news on Wednesday.
Caesars Sportsbook briefly dropped the line to Browns -1.5, before electing to take the game off the board. The line began resurfacing Wednesday afternoon with the Raiders as small favorites.
“We don’t want to take games down,” Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said Wednesday afternoon. “We want betting to occur, but we want to have the best information, obviously. It’s a tough decision when it comes to taking games down.”
The line for the NFC East divisional battle between Washington and Philadelphia Eagles grew from Eagles -5 to -7 on Wednesday after Washington quarterback Kyle Allen was placed in COVID-19 protocols. Allen played last week after starting quarterback Taylor Heinicke left the game with a knee injury. Heinicke is expected to play Sunday, but 17 players are on the COVID-19 list for Washington. The Eagles began the week as 2.5-point favorites in the game.
NFL market watch
Here is our weekly look at how the NFL betting market is shaping up leading into the weekend.
For consistency, lines, totals and betting percentages are from Caesars Sportsbook unless otherwise noted. The betting percentages…
Source : espn
