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By Max Meyer

It was an incredible showing for underdogs in Week 9 of the NFL season, as they went 10-4 against the spread and 7-7 straight up. Are Caesars Sportsbook bettors expecting underdogs to cover the number often in Week 10’s slate as well?

As of now, that’s not the case. Only one Week 10 underdog has received both the majority of the total number of tickets and total dollars wagered out of the 14 games.

“It’s pretty much standard that the public will still side with the favorites even after a big underdog week,” said Adam Pullen, Assistant Director of Trading at Caesars Sportsbook. “They’ll view it as a one-off or a fluke compared to a sign of things to come. The NFL is so unpredictable, but a week like last week isn’t going to be enough to get them to run to bet underdogs. If there’s another week like last week, it’ll be interesting to see what happens then.”

That one popular underdog, surprisingly, is the only winless team in the NFL. The 0-8 Lions opened as 9-point road underdogs to the Steelers, however now they reside at +8. Detroit has racked up 69% of the total number of tickets and 99% of the total dollars wagered among all spread bets against Pittsburgh.

“The Lions are abysmal, but maybe that they’re coming off a bye might help them,” Pullen said. “I can also see where people could think that the Steelers shouldn’t be laying that much since their offense isn’t as prolific anymore. They could also be reacting to what they saw on Monday night with the Bears almost beating them. The total is low as well, so the points are more valuable. It’s not surprising to me to see this many people jump on the Lions this week.”

The Lions are one of two teams to currently be registering 99% of the total dollars wagered on their respective spread. The other is the Chargers, who are 3-point home favorites over the Vikings. 

Four $520,000 wagers have come in for Week 10’s slate thus far, including bets on Lions +9 (-110) and Chargers -2.5 (-110) for potential winnings of $472,727.25.

The two other sides that have drawn a $520,000 bet are Patriots -1.5 (-110) vs. the Browns and 49ers +4 (-110) vs. the Rams. The 49ers are still at +4, as the Rams have been the most lopsided spread wager this week by total number of tickets at 88%. Yet, San Francisco has the advantage with 95% of the total dollars wagered in this NFC West Monday night meeting. 

“I’m a little surprised that the Rams are getting so many of the tickets after losing in prime-time last weekend,” Pullen said. “I think the Niners are pretty live when they’re getting more than a field goal here. Everyone is down on them after they lost to the Cardinals with Colt McCoy, but last week is over. There should be no more surprising results in the NFL anymore, it’s just that crazy.”

Another prime-time game has seen one team nab the majority of the total number of tickets and the other with the majority of the total dollars wagered. In a crucial AFC West showdown, the Chiefs are 2.5-point road chalk against the Raiders in Las Vegas on Sunday night. The Raiders are tied for first place in the division with the Chargers at 5-3, while the Chiefs and Broncos are each a game behind at 5-4.

While Kansas City has seized 60% of the total number of tickets, it’s actually the home underdog that has collected 78% of the total dollars wagered. 

“It could end up with Chiefs at -3, it’ll depend on what happens in the early games and what the liability is,” Pullen said. “The Chiefs’ results this season don’t necessarily merit them being a road favorite against a good team, but they still have that attraction. People are just waiting for them to finally bust out. It’s a low spread too, so I think we’ll continue to see Chiefs money heading into the game.” 

Check out Caesars Sportsbook’s latest odds and trends for every NFL Week 10 spread below. 