Total for AFC Title Game Drops
The betting total for Sunday’s AFC Championship Game for the Jacksonville Jaguars and New England Patriots has dropped nearly two full points off the opening number.
According to oddsmakers from online sports book Bovada.lv, the over/under for today’s AFC title game at 3:05 p.m. ET now sits at 45.5. The number hit the board at 47 but has dropped nearly two full points since it opened. The drop was steady at first but over the past 24 hours it fell a full point.
As for the point spread, the Patriots remain between a 7.5 or 8-point home favorite depending on which online sports book you view. New England opened as an 8.5-point favorite, the number climbed as high as 9.5 but then dropped early Friday morning. As of Sunday morning, 64% of the betting tickets wagered online for this game are on the Patriots to cover the spread.
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One reason for the drop in both the spread and the total is the health status of Tom Brady. The New England signal-caller injured the thumb on his throwing hand earlier in the week but is expected to play. The Boston Herald’s Jeff Howe reports that Brady’s injured right hand is expected to be “just fine” for Sunday’s game, although the quarterback did wear a glove all week in practice. That said, it’s believed that Brady suffered a cut on his hand in Wednesday’s practice that was significant info to require stitches.
The home team has covered the spread in six of the last eight meetings between these two teams. The Jaguars are also just 2-5 against the number in their last seven games versus the Patriots and have failed to cover in five of their last six games against the Pats in New England.