Weekly, America has its game. Patrick Everson reports on the early betting action for FOX Sports' marquee slate.
In the wake of the NFL schedule release, bookmakers wasted no time. A few sportsbooks already have NFL odds up for every game of the regular season, save for Week 18.
FOX Sports didn’t dither, either, announcing its America’s Game of the Week lineup for the 2026-27 campaign, along with a massive Christmas Day game. So without delay, let’s dive into a few of those matchups, with insights from Caesars Sports head of football trading Joey Feazel. This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated.
Read more aboutTwo seasons ago, the Eagles won the Super Bowl in a rout of the Chiefs. Last season, Philadelphia exited early with a 23-19 home loss to the 49ers on Wild Card Weekend. Semi-similarly, the Commanders had a huge 2024-25 campaign behind breakout rookie QB Jayden Daniels. Washington surprisingly reached the NFC Championship Game before losing to the Eagles.
Then, like Philly, the Commanders backslid last season, though much further, finishing a dismal 5-12. That was due in large part to Daniels missing several games with injuries, including the final four contests after re-injuring a previously dislocated left elbow.
"Jayden Daniels should be good to go," Feazel said, before diving into potential problems. "Both teams have had less-than-desirable offseasons. We’re waiting for the Commanders to pick up another wide receiver to go with Terry McLaurin, and their running backs aren’t much to write home about. Caesars opened Philly as a 4.5-point home favorite.
These NFC North rivals played three times in six weeks last season, and Chicago took two of those three meetings. In Week 14, Green Bay won 28-21 at home. Two weeks later, the Bears trailed 16-6 at home, late in the fourth quarter. But Chicago put up a field goal and touchdown in the final two minutes to tie it at 16, then won 22-16 on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore.
Three weeks later, in the wild-card round, the Packers led 21-3 at halftime and 21-6 after three quarters. The Bears again made a big comeback at home, clinching a 31-27 victory on a Williams-to-Moore 25-yard TD pass. Feazel said the Bears’ surprising run to the divisional round — where they lost at home in overtime to the Rams — will certainly attract the public betting masses this season and in this game, on Oct. 11.
"We’re gonna see some Bears money coming in here," he said. "There’s still sentiment that the Packers are not delivering. They showed promise at times last season, and at times looked flat.
"So I’m gonna anticipate seeing some ‘dog money in the offseason. The public is very high on the Bears at this moment. We’ve already been taking action on Bears futures, including the season win total .
"It’s another NFC North clash. As noted above, Green Bay’s 2025-26 campaign ended in the wild-card round. Detroit didn’t even reach the playoffs. The Lions, a darling of public bettors dating to the middle of the 2022-23 season, finally went in reverse.
In mid-December, Detroit was 8-5, coming off a 44-13 win over Dallas. Then the Lions dropped three in a row before edging the Bears in the season finale. But 9-8 wasn’t enough to get a postseason bid.
"The Lions lost Ben Johnson to the Bears last year and took a step back. But they were still respected by bettors, week in and week out," Feazel said.
"I expect that to continue. With that explosive offense, I think the Lions will remain a public team.
"Seattle began the 2025-26 season with a 17-13 home loss to San Francisco. Then the Seahawks won 14 of their next 16 games, got the NFC’s No. 1 seed and ran all the way to the Super Bowl title, beating the Patriots 29-13. That run included back-to-back wins over the 49ers: 13-3 on the road in the regular-season finale, followed by a 41-6 wipeout at home in the divisional round.
Counting the playoffs last year, the Seahawks went 16-3 straight up and a money-printing 14-5 against the spread . Still, with many months to go before this Nov. 29 contest, Caesars pegged the Niners as 1.5-point home favorites.
"This game will drive a lot of action," Feazel said. "The Seahawks lost a lot of pieces in the offseason and didn’t do much to replace all that. We think Seattle will take a little step back this season. And the public didn’t really buy into the Seahawks last season until the playoffs.
"California bettors, both north and south, they come to Nevada to bet the 49ers. I expect to see significant 49ers action here.
"Everyone hopes this is a healthy Patrick Mahomes vs. a healthy Joe Burrow, battling for playoff position on Dec. 13 in Cincinnati. Recall that last season, Mahomes tore his left ACL/LCL in a Week 15 loss to the Chargers. It was just another setback in a stunningly long season for Kansas City, which went a dismal 6-11. Burrow suffered a turf toe injury in Week 3 that kept him out for nine games.
Like the Chiefs, the Bengals went a disappointing 6-11.
"We’re happy to see this one coming down in December, later in the year," Feazel said. "The AFC is wide open. If the Chiefs play well the first half of the season, you’ll see some Chiefs action — if they’re back in fighting form.
"And there’ll be a lot of same-game parlays, especially if both teams are healthy. Bettors love that Bengals offense. It could be a great game.
"This contest isn’t part of the FOX America’s Game of the Week lineup, since it’s not on a Sunday. But it’s massive just the same, a prime-time Christmas evening clash in Seattle. Just like Seahawks-Niners, there were three Rams-Seahawks meetings last year. All three were close and Seattle won two of them.
That included a screamer of a Thursday night game in Week 16. The Seahawks rallied from a 30-14 fourth-quarter deficit to tie it at 30 and force overtime. On the first possession of OT, the Rams got a Puka Nacua TD on a 41-yard pass from Matthew Stafford.
Then Seattle countered with a 4-yard TD pass from Sam Darnold to Jaxon Smith-Njigba. But instead of kicking the PAT to tie it at 37, the Seahawks went for two and converted to win 38-37. The two teams then met in the NFC Championship Game, another high-scoring affair, with Seattle winning 31-27.
"It’s close to a pick ‘em, similar to what we saw last year," Feazel said. "The NFL is displaying these teams a lot, with both getting seven stand-alone games. As the late Christmas game, there will be plenty of action.
""Those were three of our highest-bet games last season, so this will probably be one of our biggest-bet games of the year," he said. "And I’d expect to get money on the Rams. They have the best roster in the league. Why not go to the NFC North well one more time?
As mentioned above, the public betting masses have loved Detroit for three-plus seasons, with the Lions a spread-covering machine most of that time, save for the second half of last season.
"It’s another scenario where this game might matter a lot for the division. That’s what we’re hoping for," Feazel said.
"The Lions are a public team, and the Bears are starting to become a public team, as we’re seeing this offseason.2026 NFL International Games Odds: Spreads, Lines For All 9 Games2026 NFL Schedule Release: 5 Bold Predictions After Unveiling Of Regular Season Slate2026 NFL Strength of Schedule: Easiest and Hardest Slates After Release2026 NFL International Games Odds: Spreads, Lines For All 9 Games2026 NFL Schedule Release: 5 Bold Predictions After Unveiling Of Regular Season Slate2026 NFL Strength of Schedule: Easiest and Hardest Slates After ReleaseFOX SPORTS™, SPEED™, SPEED. COM™ & © 2026 Fox Media LLC and Fox Sports Interactive Media, LLC.
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