Everything that happens in sports has additional context when viewed from a betting perspective. From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.
Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.
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Jan. 23: Sportsbooks rooting for Broncos, Rams in conference championship games
Doug Greenberg: Before Bo Nix went down with a season-ending ankle injury during the Denver Broncos' divisional round win over the Buffalo Bills, the Broncos were poised to be 1.5-point home favorites in the AFC Championship Game against the New England Patriots, according to DraftKings lookahead lines.
When the odds for Sunday's game did eventually open, with Jarrett Stidham the announced starting quarterback for Denver, the Pats were 4.5-point road favorites and quickly jumped up to -5.5 following heavy early action on New England.
If the line closes with the Patriots as 5-point favorites or bigger, they will be the standalone largest road favorite in a conference championship game since the 1970 AFL/NFL merger. Even at -4.5, they would tie the record set by the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers, who were ultimately upset by the Oakland Raiders.
Bookmakers have been monitoring the line and betting action closely, with Circa Sports head NFL bookmaker Jamey Pileggi telling ESPN earlier in the week that he believed anything in the 5-point range was "still too high."
"I think it'll drop come Sunday. I just think it's way too high," he said.
Sure enough, some buyback did come on Denver and the Patriots are now -4.5 marketwide, with Circa even bringing them down to -4. Still, the overwhelming sentiment from bookmakers is that they will need the Broncos to pull off the upset, with BetMGM trading manager Seamus Magee calling a Denver win "the best result overall for the sportsbook" this weekend.
Similarly, the Seattle Seahawks' 2.5-point favorite spread has been a public play all week, attracting 80% of the wagers at DraftKings as of Friday afternoon. There does appear to be some smart money backing the visiting Los Angeles Rams -- with BetMGM reporting 51% of the handle on the Rams' spread -- but bookmakers are still generally rooting for the underdogs in both games.
"As we've gotten later in the week, we're seeing a bit more love for the Broncos and Rams, but at this point an ideal outcome for us is still both underdogs covering on Sunday," theScore Bet trading lead Adrian Horton said over email.
Some books will be rooting for Denver and L.A. due to Super Bowl futures: DraftKings says its only remaining championship liability is the Patriots, while BetMGM and Circa both have liabilities on the Seahawks lifting the Lombardi Trophy.
ESPN's David Purdum contributed to this report.