Yahoo Sports NFL betting: Seattle is the public's pick for Monday night
Week 12 of the NFL season comes to an end on Monday night when the Washington Football Team hosts the Seattle Seahawks. Both teams come in with losing records, but they're still alive in the NFC wild-card race. In fact, if Washington wins tonight, it'll enter next weekend sitting in a playoff spot. We've seen some interesting line movement in this game during the week, but what's the public's thoughts on Monday night's game?
Seattle a popular road favorite
When the betting market opened, the Seattle Seahawks were installed as 2.5-point road favorites over the Washington Football Team. By midweek last week, the Football Team was a 1-point home favorite. However, as game-time approaches, the Seahawks are now a 1-point road favorite over Washington.
It's been a very down season for the Seahawks. They were unimpressive early in the season and then Russell Wilson got hurt. They struggled during his absence and have continued to struggle since he returned. Wilson is barely completing 50% of his passes and averaging just over 180 yards per game since his return.
The Football Team was one of the bigger disappointments in the league at the start of the season but they've now won two straight games and still have an opportunity to make a playoff push. The defense has stepped up in recent weeks and Taylor Heinicke has made enough plays for Washington.
Despite the recent trends, 66% of bets and 72% of the money wagered is backing Seattle to cover as a road favorite. Russell Wilson is 10-2 all time straight up on "Monday Night Football."
Money is backing the over
I hope you haven't been betting the over in Seattle games this season. In Seattle's first ten games this season, the over has hit just once. Eight games went under the total and one game landed exactly on the final total.
It's no surprise that the betting public has noticed this trend as 53% of bets are on Seattle-Washington to go under the total of 46.5-points. However, sharp bettors may be expecting some regression to the mean for Seattle with 67% of the betting handle on this game to go over the total.
As mentioned earlier, Wilson has struggled since returning from injury and the Football Team has played better defensively in recent weeks. However, 46.5 points is an average total and even a pedestrian score such as 24-23 can cash an over ticket.
Popular props to bet
If you can't pick a side in this game, luckily there's plenty of action available in the prop market at BetMGM. Below are three of the most popular prop bets for Monday night:
D.K. Metcalf to score the first touchdown in the game currently has +750 odds. Metcalf scored eight touchdowns in the first eight games of the season, but hasn't found the end zone in back-to-back games. Is he due? Seattle will likely rely on the passing game as Chris Carson, Rashaad Penny and Travis Homer are all out.
Washington running back Antonio Gibson is +110 to score a touchdown on Monday. Gibson has just six touchdowns on the season, five on the ground and one through the air. Gibson has two touchdowns in his last five games, and both came in the same game.
A two-leg prop receiving some action is Washington to win and Terry McLaurin to score a touchdown. This prop comes with +225 odds. In Washington's four wins this season, McLaurin has four touchdowns.
