On Monday morning, spreads and totals for Week 2 of the NFL preseason opened across the betting market. While waiting around for your odds page to populate preseason lines may not seem like a fruitful endeavor for most people, it's how some folks make a living.
If we take a peek at the Cowboys-Rams game in Hawaii, we see a prime example of sharp preseason line movement that would never take place during the regular season.
After opening at -3 at most books, and even -4 at some, bettors faded the Rams in droves. Seventy percent of early bets have come in on the Cowboys and those tickets account for 85% of the cash.
Furthermore, a steam move struck the Cowboys at +3 shortly before noon ET, helping move the line a full three points to a pick'em. Two more steam moves have since moved the line to Dallas -2/-2.5.
Chasing big preseason line moves hasn't resulted in any significant trends, as betting on teams like the Cowboys, whose line has moved at least three points, have gone 50-48-4 against the spread (ATS).
It's currently unclear as to which star players will be suiting up for the game and how long they will play. However, if we look to last year's second preseason games for each team, we can get some clues.
The Cowboys played Dak Prescott halfway through the second quarter, which was the most he played all preseason. Meanwhile, the Rams did not play Jared Goff, Todd Gurley, Aaron Donald or anyone else of note.
On the other hand, this movement may open up some value to buy back the Rams for those who make a habit of betting on preseason coaching trends.
Jason Garrett has gone just 11-21-2 ATS in the preseason, which ties him for the least profitable preseason coach in our Bet Labs database.
Stay tuned for more preseason news and notes as the week progresses.
