Daily public money update: Bettors backing Bills for NFL Week 9

Andrew Ortenberg

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I'm an NFL handicapper here at Pickswise who was raised in a household full of sports fanatics. Since I unfortunately never had LeBron James' jumping ability I wasn't able to make it to the NBA, and chose writing about sports as the next best thing. An avid sports bettor myself, I'm excited to get to write about the industry as it gets set to take off across the country. Buckle up. For Andrew Ortenberg media enquiries, please email contact@pickswise.com.

NFL: Bills -14 @ Jaguars

You could’ve seen this public side coming a mile away. The Bills playing the Jaguars? It didn’t matter what the number was going to be here, it could’ve opened at -20, and bettors still likely would’ve been flocking to Buffalo. 86 percent of the bets and 92 percent of the public money are laying two touchdowns with the Bills here, per DraftKings’ internal numbers shared with us.

This is likely just as much a fade of the Jaguars as it is an endorsement of the Bills. Jacksonville has been pretty lifeless, and the public just watched them get demolished by Geno Smith last week. If Smith can slice through the Jags’ defense with relative ease, it’s anyone’s guess what Josh Allen can do.

NFL: Patriots -3.5 @ Panthers

The next biggest public NFL side of Week 9 is the Patriots. New England used to be an automatic public spot during the Tom Brady days, and Mac Jones appears to have gotten them back to that level. At least for this matchup with the Panthers that is. 85 percent of the bets and 88 percent of the public money are taking the road favorite in this AFC vs NFC clash.

Carolina bounced back with a win over Atlanta last week, but before that they had been pretty terrible. They’d previously lost four straight games, and the public doesn’t have much confidence in Sam Darnold. It’s hard to blame them. We’re agreeing with the public on this one and taking the Pats here.

CFB: Wake Forest +2.5 @ North Carolina

There are other bigger public sides for this college football slate, but this one is the most interesting. It’s always a bit unique to see a public underdog, and that’s what we’ve got here. Wake Forest is undefeated and ranked inside the top 10, yet they’re an underdog to a 4-4 UNC team. Anytime bettors see something like that, they’re going to pounce. 75 percent of the bets and 60 percent of the handle are on the Demon Deacons here.

The gap in those two percentages though indicates that there have been some larger volume bets on the Tar Heels. Public underdogs can often be trap spots, but we don’t think that’s the case here. We’re taking Wake Forest on the money line.

NBA: Nets -9.5 @ Pistons

Turning our attention to the NBA now. There are a couple big basketball public sides on Friday, the first of which is the Nets. Any time one of the league’s best teams plays one of its worst teams, the public is going to fall in line. Accordingly, 77 percent of the bets and 81 percent of the public money are laying nearly double digits with Brooklyn here.

The Nets haven’t looked all that great as they’ve played without Kyrie Irving, but the Pistons have been abysmal. And these teams just played last weekend where Brooklyn won by 26, so that beatdown is fresh in the minds of bettors. We don’t want any part of Detroit either, we’re going with the Nets as well.

NBA: Warriors -9 vs Pelicans

The Nets aren’t the only favorite of almost double digits that’s getting pounded on Friday. The Warriors are laying a similar amount of points, and bettors are lining up to back them as well. 86 percent of the bets and 85 percent of the public money are taking Golden State in the nightcap of the Friday slate.

The Warriors are 6-1 while the Pelicans are 1-8, so this one isn’t too hard to figure out. This is also a nationally televised primetime game, which is always going to lead to heavier public sides. When you throw in the fact that Zion Williamson still isn’t playing for the Pelicans, nobody was going to want to touch New Orleans.

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