Whet NFL appetite with 10 tasty games

CG Technology puts up lines on games of Weeks 2 through 16

Four months before the NFL kicks off its regular season, CG Technology sportsbook has posted lines on every NFL game in Weeks 2 through 16, with money lines and totals on every prime-time and Thanksgiving Day game.

“Everybody has their niche, and to me that’s our niche. I believe we’re the only ones who have every game in Weeks 2 through 16,” CG Technology sportsbook director Tony DiTommaso said. “We try to refine it each year, and that’s why we’re doing money lines and totals on nationally televised games.”

Several Las Vegas books posted lines on Week 1 games when the NFL released its 2019 schedule in April, and the Westgate sportsbook also has posted lines on 80 “Games of the Year.”

“What’s going to happen is the sharp guys are going to scour our numbers and compare them to any other book that has numbers up,” DiTommaso said. “We’ll get a lot of business from fans who will come in to play their team. But make no mistake, it’s predominantly a sharp market.”

The limits on the opening NFL lines are $1,000 on sides and $500 on totals at CG Technology — which operates books at The Venetian, Palazzo, The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas, Tropicana, Palms, Silverton and the Hard Rock Hotel.

One of the first wagers CG took was on the Chicago Bears as 1-point underdogs at the Denver Broncos in Week 2. After taking the bet, CG Technology moved the Bears to 1-point favorites.

Here’s a quick glance at 10 games with compelling storylines and/ or notable differences between the numbers at CG Technology and the Westgate.

Week 2

Browns at Jets, “Monday Night Football”

■ CG line: Pick

■ Westgate line: Browns -2½

■ Storyline: Quarterback Baker Mayfield rallied Cleveland to its first win in almost two years last season in a 21-17 victory over QB Sam Darnold and the Jets. The teams played the first “Monday Night Football” game in NFL history in 1970 and will meet again in the 50th season of “MNF.” It’s the first of four prime-time games this season for the revitalized Browns.

“At this point, I’m not ready to make the Browns a road favorite in a nationally televised game,” DiTommaso said.

Saints at Rams

■ CG line/total: Rams -3 (even), 56

■ Westgate line: Rams -2½

■ Storyline: Rematch of the NFC title game. The Rams won 26-23 in overtime in New Orleans after officials missed a blatant pass interference call in regulation that many believed cost the Saints a trip to the Super Bowl.

Week 5

Raiders vs. Bears, London

■ CG line: Bears -6

■ Westgate line: Off

■ Storyline: Bears defensive end Khalil Mack faces his former team for the first time since the Raiders traded him to Chicago shortly before the 2018 season after a contract holdout.

Week 8

Browns at Patriots

■ CG line: Patriots -8½

■ Westgate line: Patriots -6

■ Storyline: The old guard vs. the potential new guard and a 2½-point middle across the key number of 7 on the lines at CG and the Westgate.

Week 11

Patriots at Eagles

■ CG line: Eagles -1

■ Westgate: Eagles -1½

■ Storyline: Matchup of the last two Super Bowl champions and a rematch of Super Bowl LII. This is the only game — of the lines posted — in which the Patriots are underdogs.

Chiefs vs. Chargers, “MNF,” Mexico City

■ CG line: Chiefs -2½ ,56

■ Westgate: Chiefs -2½

■ Storyline: The Chiefs were supposed to play in Mexico City last year, but the game against the Rams was moved to Los Angeles at the last minute and the teams combined for 105 points in the Rams’ 5451 win.

Week 14

Chiefs at Patriots

■ CG line: Patriots -3

■ Westgate line: Patriots -3

■ Storyline: Rematch of AFC title game. New England won 37-31 in overtime before beating the Rams 13-3 in Super Bowl LIII for its sixth title.

Week 15

Jaguars at Raiders

■ CG line: Pick

■ Westgate line: Off

■ Storyline: The Raiders’ final regularseason game at Oakland-Alameda County Coliseum before the team moves to Las Vegas in 2020.

Week 16

Chiefs at Bears, “Sunday Night Football”

■ CG line: Bears -1, 51

■ Westgate line: Bears -1½

■ Storyline: Only second 2019 game in which Chiefs are underdogs. NFL MVP Patrick Mahomes and Kansas City’s highoctane offense vs. Mack and Chicago’s top-ranked defense.

Steelers at Jets

■ CG line: Steelers -1½

■ Westgate line: Steelers -2½

■ Storyline: Pittsburgh faces running back Le’Veon Bell after he sat out the 2018 season for the Steelers in a contract dispute.

David Richard The Associated Press Browns rookie quarterback Baker Mayfield tries to get outside against the New York Jets defense in a 21-17 victory Sept. 20 in Cleveland.