NFL Closes Out Week 1 With MNF Doubleheader

It only happens once a year, but sports bettors will be treated to a special double dose of Monday Night Football to kick off a new season in the National Football League.

For years the San Diego Chargers dominated the AFC West with a string of five playoff appearances from 2004 through 2009, and they snapped a three-year drought with a wild card berth in 2013, so expectations are running high as they open this season on the road against Arizona.

The Cardinals turned things around last year with a straight-up record of 10-6, but they got caught up in a numbers game to miss the playoffs. The last time Arizona qualified for the postseason was in 2009, but expectations are running high for this team that its drought will end this year.

The odds for this inter-conference matchup at Bovada have the Cardinals listed as 2.5-point home favorites with the total set at 46.5. San Diego is 4-1 against the spread in its last five Monday Night Football games, while Arizona has struggled to cover under the primetime lights of MNF with a 1-6-1 record ATS in its last eight appearances.

The early game on Monday night is an NFC clash between the New York Giants and the Detroit Lions. These two teams were mirror opposites in 2013 with the Giants going 0-6 straight-up (1-5 ATS) in their first six games before rallying to a 7-9 SU record overall. The Lions opened the year with four wins in their first six games before tanking down the stretch to match New York at 7-9 SU.

Past betting trends would tend to favor Detroit in this game with an 8-3 record ATS in its last 11 season openers as opposed to an 0-5 ATS record in the Giants' last five openers on the road. New York comes in as a 6.5-point road underdog at Bovada in this contest and we love its chances to reverse that trend by covering on Monday night. The total for this game has been set at 47 points.