PinnacleSports.com Offers NFL Odds
WILLEMSTAD, Curacao –- (PRESS RELEASE) -- Only minutes after the NFL unveiled the 2006 regular season schedule this afternoon, the odds makers at PinnacleSports.com began calculating the betting lines for the first week of the NFL season. Although the Super Bowl was played only three months ago, the draft hasn't taken place yet and training camps aren't even close to opening, fans everywhere are anxiously awaiting the start of football season. With today's announcement of the 2006 regular season schedule, PinnacleSports.com has become the first sports book to open betting on all 16 games taking place during Week 1 of the NFL regular season in September.
In the Thursday night season opener on September 7, PinnacleSports.com currently has the defending Super Bowl champion Pittsburgh Steelers listed as 6.5 point favorites versus the visiting Miami Dolphins. The opening Sunday night primetime game of the year will mark the first time in league history that brothers will start at quarterback against each other. In what's being deemed "The Manning Bowl," Peyton's Indianapolis Colts are 3 point favorites over little brother Eli's New York Giants. For the NFL's Week 1 Monday Night doubleheader, the Washington Redskins are listed as 6 point favorites over the visiting Minnesota Vikings and new head coach Brad Childress, while the San Diego Chargers, led by new starting quarterback Philip Rivers, are favored by 1.5 points over their AFC West rival Oakland Raiders.
The first Sunday of the NFL season features many other notable match-ups that will definitely be popular with the betting public. NFC South rivals meet in Carolina when the Panthers (-4) host Michael Vick and the Atlanta Falcons, while the three-time world champion New England Patriots are 7.5 point favorites to the Buffalo Bills in a key AFC East match-up at Gillette Stadium. Offensive powerhouses meet in Kansas City when Chad Johnson's Cincinnati Bengals (+2.5) visit the Chiefs and new head coach Herm Edwards. Meanwhile, the defending NFC champion Seattle open in Detroit where PinnacleSports.com has listed the Seahawks as 3.5 point favorites over the Lions. In his first regular season as a member of the Cowboys, Terrell Owens and his Dallas teammates find themselves as 3 point underdogs at the Jacksonville Jaguars.
In addition, PinnacleSports.com has odds posted on all 32 NFL teams winning Super Bowl XLI and currently lists the now Edgerrin James-less Indianapolis Colts as the 6/1 favorites to hoist the Lombardi Trophy. The New England Patriots are 10/1 to win their fourth championship in six years, while the Pittsburgh Steelers are 11/1 to repeat as world champs, along with reigning NFC champs Seattle. PinnacleSports.com lists a much-improved Miami Dolphins team at 12/1 followed by the Carolina Panthers and Denver Broncos at 13/1. Three NFC East teams could also vie for the Super Bowl title as TO's Dallas Cowboys (16/1), the Washington Redskins (16/1) and Philadelphia Eagles (19/1) should be solid playoff contenders. Surprisingly, the Arizona Cardinals currently have better odds to win their first Super Bowl, at 20/1 odds, than 2005 playoff teams Cincinnati (21/1), New York Giants (23/1), Chicago (24/1) and Jacksonville (24/1). The Tennessee Titans, San Francisco 49ers and Houston Texans have been installed with the worst odds to win Super Bowl XLI at 150/1.