TORONTO — With the NFL regular season set to open Thursday night, Proline customers see the Kansas City Chiefs repeating as Super Bowl champions.
According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., 18 per cent of Proline players predict Kansas City will repeat as the NFL champion. But 16 per cent also believe the Philadelphia Eagles, who the Chiefs defeated in last year’s final, will capture the Lombardi Trophy.
The Buffalo Bills are the third-most popular pick with 11 per cent of all wagers.
The Chiefs will open the regular season Thursday night against the Detroit Lions.
Twenty-two per cent of customers feel Buffalo will win the AFC title, ahead of Cincinnati (15 per cent) and Kansas City (13 per cent). In the NFC, the San Francisco 49ers are a top betting choice (30 per cent) ahead of Philadelphia (22 per cent) and upstart Detroit (14 per cent).
Proline bettors see a close race for MVP honours between Jacksonville’s Trevor Lawrence (13.8 per cent of wagers) and Philadelphia’s Jalen Hurts (13.3 per cent). That’s certainly not the case for defensive player honours as Dallas’s Micah Parsons (60 cent) is the runaway favourite while Cincinnati receiver Ja’Marr Chase (19 per cent) holds a slight edge over Baltimore quarterback Lamar Jackson (16 per cent) as top offensive player.
But Jackson (40 per cent) is a solid choice for comeback player honours ahead of Denver quarterback Russell Wilson (17 per cent). Atlanta rookie Bijan Robinson (30 per cent) is the top choice to lead the NFL in rushing yards.
Last week, the Toronto Blue Jays split their six games. On Sunday, 89 per cent of bettors correctly had Toronto beating Colorado (7-5 win) while 61 per cent had the total over of 11.5 runs.
Also on Sunday, the Canadian men’s basketball team qualified for the 2024 Summer Games with an 88-85 win over Spain at the FIBA World Cup. Seventy-one per cent of wagers had Canada winning while 45 per cent had the total over of 168.5 points.
A $60 wager on an 11-pick baseball/tennis parlay earned a Proline retail customer a whopping $19,544 payout. Another turned a $2 bet into a $1,344 windfall on a seven-pick Major League Soccer/baseball parlay.
Meanwhile a Proline.ca player correctly predicted the over in seven NCAA football games, winning $2,054 on a $25 wager.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.
