Pro bettors buy low on Raiders, Patriots, sell high on Seahawks

Buy low. Sell high.

That’s easier said than done, but the famous stock market strategy also can apply to betting on the NFL.

“It’s as good a strategy as anything in the NFL,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said.

Professional sports bettors are employing that strategy on several NFL games Sunday, including the Raiders-Titans and Patriots-Chiefs.

Oakland, still in the playoff hunt, is perhaps at its lowest point following lopsided losses at Kansas City (40-9) and the New York Jets (34-3). Tennessee is at its highest point after beating the Colts 31-17 for its fifth win and cover in six games behind quarterback Ryan Tannehill.

The Titans are consensus 3-point road favorites, but the sharps are backing the Raiders, which is why the line has dropped to 2½ at several Las Vegas sportsbooks.

“A guy we respect the most in terms of NFL betting bet the Raiders plus 3,” Murray said. “Tennessee might be a little bit overvalued. It could be a good spot to back the Raiders.

“They’re coming off a really poor performance, so it might be a good time to buy low on them.”

Pro bettors also are buying low on New England, which is coming off a 28-22 loss at Houston and has averaged only 18 points in its last four games. Kansas City has won and covered three of its last four while averaging 30.5.

The Patriots are 3-point favorites at home, where they’re 5-0 this season. The line has crept up to 3½ at the Westgate and Circa.

“It feels like we’ve seen this game before,” said Ed Salmons, Westgate vice president of risk. “The Patriots play a really crappy game and come home and the point spread is lowered because they played crappy last week.

“Obviously it’s a huge game for the Patriots if they want a first-round bye and home-field (advantage) and all that stuff. These are the games the Patriots always seem to win. They just never lose at home in these big games.”

There were seven other sharp plays reported at the Westgate, CG Technology and MGM Resorts, which took a $300,000 straight bet on one of them: the 49ers (+2½) over the Saints.

San Francisco, which stayed on the East Coast after a 20-17 loss at the Baltimore Ravens, is a consensus 2½-point road underdog after New Orleans opened as a 3-point favorite.

Other pro plays are the Rams (at +1 and -105 and +105 on the money line), Chargers (-2½, -3), Bengals (+9), Falcons (-2, -2½), Dolphins (+5½) and Steelers (-2).

The Rams are a pick’em at home against the Seahawks on “Sunday Night Football.” Los Angeles, coming off a 34-7 rout at Arizona, lost 30-29 at Seattle this season when Greg Zuerlein missed a 44-yard field goal with 11 seconds left.

“The public just keeps backing Seattle, and the wiseguys keep betting against them,” Salmons said. “This is kind of the Rams’ Super Bowl. It’s their division rival, they should’ve won the first meeting and they bounced back last week.”

The Chargers are 3-point road favorites over the Jaguars, who are on an 0-4 spread slide and lost their last four games by an average of more than 20 points.

The Falcons are up to 3½-point home favorites over the Panthers, who are playing their first game since coach Ron Rivera was fired Tuesday.

Cincinnati, off its first win of the season (22-6 over the Jets), is a 7-point underdog at Cleveland after the line opened at 10½.

Miami, a 5½-point underdog at the Jets, is off a 37-31 win over the Eagles, has won three of its last five games and is riding a 6-2 cover streak.

Pittsburgh, a 2½-point favorite at Arizona, has won six of seven after a 1-4 start to claim the AFC’s No. 6 playoff seed.

More Betting: Follow at reviewjournal.com/betting.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.