NFL Preseason Betting Angle

The original teams of the American Football League are celebrating a 50th Anniversary this year and for all eight of them it’s quite a big deal. Football bettors following these teams through the preseason are in the spirit, too, thanks to an NFL betting angle that’s hitting over 70-percent and going strong.

When you add up all the Total numbers at the end of a football season, the Over/Under stats usually finish up close to 50-50. For that reason it is very rare to find an auto-play or even a sports betting trend that can be played blindly and produce a consistent profit. It’s always great for sports bettors when they can find an angle, work on the games that fit the profile and narrow down the best bet on the weekly NFL betting board.

There is one select group of teams this year that’s been performing at a consistent rate through the preseason and it’s caught our eye. We;re curious to see if this potential angle is worth watching into the regular season. It’s the original eight AFL teams. It’s the league’s 50th Anniversary this year, and it seems to be getting these teams “up” for their games – in spirit and scoring.

AFL Teams Go “Over”: The original eight teams, as they are now known, are New England, Oakland, Tennessee, Buffalo, the Jets, Kansas City, San Diego and Denver. Each of these teams has played at least three preseason games this year and the 24 matchups have produced 17 overs and 7 unders. That’s better than 70-percent to the high side.

As mentioned earlier, putting a bunch of teams on auto-play is not a sound handicapping method. The law of averages will eventually even things out and once you factor in the juice, the balance at your online sportsbook will look no better than the national budget.

The original eight teams each play one more preseason game before turning their focus towards the regular season. Sportsbook SPORTSBETTING.com has reported seeing more action come in on the “Over” side on games involving AFL teams the last two weeks of the preseason.

Here are a few things to consider when handicapping Week 4 of the preseason.

- Straight-up records: Every one of these AFL teams has earned a win so far this preseason except for Oakland and Denver. With new coaches in charge on each team, Week 4 is their last opportunity to get off the shnide and build some confidence for their players (and themselves!).

- Location: Home field may have added benefit this week to some of these teams since so many of them have been hosting pre-game and half-time ceremonies to honour the founders of the league. San Diego lost in its Week 1 home opener and then went on the road for two games, falling in the final seconds last week in Atlanta. Versus a 3-0 Niners team this week one win away from a perfect preseason we are seeing motivational factors for both sides to put up points.

Looking at the most recent game a team has played can lead to reactionary betting but in some cases it can pay off. Buffalo is back at home this week after being shutout by the Steelers in Week 3.

Preseason post-shutout victims the past four years have generated a 4-1 record to the "Over" in their next preseason contest. Couple that with the fact that the Bills have been on the road the past two-straight weeks and their Week 4 opponent, the Lions, needs every bit of momentum they can muster heading into the regular campaign and it presents what could be an excellent opportunity for a high scoring contest.

Good luck with your NFL betting the rest of the way in the preseason.