Contestants in Bookies Battle 2022 are back on the chalk train, as favorites account for the top six consensus picks for NFL Week 6.
That sentiment is in stark opposition to the way this season has trended – underdogs are 46-32-3 against the spread after five weeks of play, including the Commanders vs. Bears Thursday night game that kicked off Week 6.
But, hey, these things tend to even out. Right?
Anyway, Bengals -2 (at Saints) and Chargers -5 (vs. Broncos) are tied as the week’s most popular plays, each drawing 68.5% of the pool.
The week’s consensus picks are off to an 0-1 start, as Bears -1, the third top play, was a loser in Washington’s 12-7 outright win. The Commanders actually closed as 1-point consensus favorites.
Chargers -5 also appears to be on the wrong side of the line move.
NFL Week 6 Consensus Picks, Bookies Battle 2022
| Pick | Contest Line | Friday line | Opponent | % of Pool |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| CIN Bengals | -2 | -2 | NO Saints | 68.5% |
| LA Chargers | -5 | -4.5 | DEN Broncos | 68.5% |
| CHI Bears | -1 | +1 | WAS Commanders | 63.0% |
| MIN Vikings | -3 | -3 (-115) | MIA Dolphins | 61.1% |
| ARI Cardinals | -2.5 | -2.5 | SEA Seahawks | 57.4% |
| IND Colts | -2.5 | -2 | JAX Jaguars | 57.4% |
| KC Chiefs | +3 | +2.5 (-105) | BUF Bills | 55.6% |
| CAR Panthers | +11 | +10 | LA Rams | 53.7% |
| NE Patriots | +3 | +2.5 | CLE Browns | 53.7% |
| PHI Eagles | -4.5 | -6.5 | DAL Cowboys | 53.7% |
| SF 49ers | -5.5 | -5.5 | ATL Falcons | 51.9% |
Ravens (-5) at Giants, Packers (-7) vs. Jets, and Bucs (-8.5) at Steelers have all garnered 50/50 splits of our bookmakers’ selections.
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NFL Week 6 Closing-Line Value
In Sunday’s two marquee games – Bills vs. Chiefs and Cowboys vs. Eagles – the majority of Bookies Battle contestants are on track for closing-line value. The books are an important half-point to the good with KC +3, and Philly has grown from -4.5 to -6.5 since contest lines were posted Tuesday.
Patriots +3 and Panthers +11 are also on pace to beat the closing line.
Conversely, in addition to the Chargers and Bears, poolsters who laid Colts -2.5 are worse off than Friday’s number.
Season Snapshot
After a rough start to the year, which included back-to-back weeks of just five winners in Weeks 2 and 3, Bookies Battle consensus picks logged their second-straight winning week in Week 5, going 8-7-1 ATS. That followed Week 4’s ridiculous 13-2-1 tally.
We’re 38-40-3 heading into Sunday.
Catching up with the Winner
Gaming Today’s Travis Pulver caught up this week with Casey Degnon, Senior Risk Supervisor at the Westgate SuperBook, who took home $500 and earned a spot in the playoff portion of the contest by winning the first quarter mini-contest.
Casey is a relative newcomer to the sports betting industry and talks to Travis about breaking into the business, working at one of Vegas’ premier books, and more.
Tied with Casey Lewless (Margaritaville Bossier City) going into Monday night, Degnon finished a nose in front, thanks to Raiders (+7) covering in their 30-29 loss at the Chiefs and his prediction of 52 total points. BetMGM’s Jason Scott was also in the mix, but needed the Chiefs to cover to have a chance at winning the tiebreaker.
Bookies Battle is an NFL picks contest among bookmakers around the legal US sports betting community, including some of the most expert oddsmakers in the business. Follow along with the contest here.
Also in the Bookmaker Spotlight: BetMGM’s Jason Scott | Bally Bet’s Jay Rood | Station’s Jason McCormick
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