Patriots Preseason Backers Down Bad After Loss To Colts
Very few bettors wanted to bet against Bill Belichick heading into the 2023 season
Bettors were burned for over two decades whenever they bet against Bill Belichick and the Patriots, but strategies likely will have to change after this season.
New England suffered a 10-6 loss to the Indianapolis Colts in Frankfurt, Germany and fell to 2-8 heading into its Week 11 bye. Mac Jones failed to get the job done and was benched in favor of second-year backup Bailey Zappe. Jones' future in Foxboro, Mass. is up in the air as Belichick offered very few answers about the quarterback position after Sunday's defeat.
The Colts' win continued the trend of favorites winning and covering in International Series games, and the total through four international games has gone under.
Another profitable under bet most likely will be Under New England's win total. However, not many people took the bet. The most popular bet across major sportsbooks was for the Patriots to win more than 7.5 games and make the playoffs this season.
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Experts were mixed on the bets because the Patriots didn't project to be a great team, but Belichick had a reputation for surpassing expectations and the insertion of Bill O'Brien as offensive coordinator was believed to be a positive for Jones.
Yet, the third-year quarterback somehow has been worse than he was last season under Matt Patricia and Joe Judge, and unless New England pulls off a miracle and runs the table after its bye, a lot of people will lose their Over bets on the Patriots' win total.
It's been a season to forget for New England fans as the team must decide what it will do in the 2024 NFL Draft. Whoever is under center or on the sideline will determine what oddsmakers set the Patriots' win total at for the 2024 season.
