Broncos vs. Titans Week 1 Odds: Opening as Home Underdogs | What it Means

With Colorado being new to legalized gambling, here's a breakdown of what the betting numbers mean for Broncos-Titans.

Many in the sports media landscape didn't believe we would get to this point. The Denver Broncos are less than a week away from opening the 2020 season against the Tennessee Titans at home on Monday Night Football. 

The fact that the NFL season is happening should be enough to excite fans, but one way that Broncos Country can add just a bit more excitement to their week is through the now legal sports betting in Colorado. 

Before I get to the numbers of Broncos-Titans, I want to key people into a few new things for this upcoming season that were not present last year.

First, the old adage of the home team getting a three-point bump because of the home-field advantage is not going to be a factor in Vegas' odds. Zero or limited fan attendance at games pretty much eliminates the home -field advantage but keep in mind that altitude is still going to favor the Broncos just a hair. 

If there is any team that does have an advantage when playing at home this season, it should be the Broncos.

Second, many in the sports betting world are banking that teams that have had continuity at the head coach, coordinators, and quarterback should fair better early in the season. The Broncos fall somewhat in the middle on this category with the same head coach and the same quarterback that closed out the season but it's an entirely new system with offensive coordinator Pat Shurmur and quite a few young players on that side of the ball. 

The newness of it all could rear its ugly head early in the season. Meanwhile, the Titans only have one major change in Dean Pees retiring as the defensive coordinator, but head coach Mike Vrabel announced that instead of bringing in an outside hire, he and the rest of the defensive staff would give it a collaborative effort. 

Vrabel was quoted back in February saying, “I would say to bring in a guy who hasn’t been in our system and done what we have done in Houston or here isn’t what I want to do.”

Finally, the oddsmakers have given NFL teams a wider range of variance this year compared to past seasons. They're factoring in extra players missing games beyond regular injuries, anticipating some COVID-19 impact, making it much more difficult to predict where teams will finish if, say, a starting quarterback has to sit out a few weeks because of the virus.

Getting to the Broncos-Titans this coming Monday, the line itself is seeing a dramatic swing all because of some really big news that dropped Tuesday night with Von Miller expected to be out for the season.

Following the Von Miller news, the #Titans are now -2.5 over the #Broncos at Mile High according to @WeSportsBetting. Welp!https://t.co/jj1MHc3CTy

— Chad Jensen (@ChadNJensen) September 9, 2020

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Let's take a look at the numbers according to Colorado-based SportsBetting.com.

ATS Betting Lines: Tennessee Titans -2.5

Over/Under: 41.0

Moneyline Odds: Tennessee -113/Denver -108

Breaking it Down

ATS: The Against the Spread has moved from -1 to -2.5 with some sites already having the line at -3 in favor of the Titans. I expect that number to continue to trend in Tennessee's direction, so those planning on betting on the Broncos would be wise to wait on placing that wager. 

I want to point out, though, that over the last 20 home-opening games for the Broncos, they're 18-2. Yes, this is a different situation with no crowd, but the altitude should still be a factor. That record is straight-up without including the spread.

Over/Under: The O/U for the Monday Night game has not changed with the news of Miller breaking. The number continues to hold at 41 for now. I would expect there to be a slight change to a higher score with one of the best defensive players in the league missing from the game, but that could be countered a bit by the signing of Jadeveon Clowney by the Titans.

Moneyline: Another area to look into is what is called the Moneyline. If you're confident which team is going to win, this might be the way to go. The current Moneyline for the Broncos-Titans game is -113 for the Titans and -108 for the Broncos. This would mean that a $100 bet on the Broncos would net you a $92 payout. 

Earlier in the week, the Broncos were trending as the lower payout of the two teams, but again, with new information factoring in on losing Miller, that number has begun to creep in the other direction. This is another bet that if you're leaning towards the Broncos, it'd be better to wait as the number can only get better leading up to the game.

Bottom Line

In the football betting world, these three numbers are usually the main factors that people focus on in placing their bets. When it comes to gambling, you can find plenty of other fun and exciting bets, but if you're just starting out in the betting world, these are the three I would focus on first and work to understand. I'm always available on social media for questions, too. 

Week 1 is usually the craziest for seeing weird things happen in the NFL and this year should add just a little extra lunacy with a very shortened offseason and no preseason games to give fans or teams an insider look at what could be in store for this upcoming season. 

Follow Carl on Twitter @CarlDumlerMHH and @MileHighHuddle.