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With the 2015 NFL schedule out, Las Vegas is already set to take your money for wagers. Covers.com has the line for all NFL games for the first 16 weeks of the season. The Arizona Cardinals are favored in eight of those games -- six at home and two on the road.
Here are the lines so far:
Week 1: Cardinals -3 over Saints (Home)
Week 2: Cardinals -1 over Bears (Away)
Week 3: Cardinals -2.5 over 49ers (Home)
Week 4: Cardinals -3.5 over Rams (Home)
Week 5: Lions -1.5 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 6: Steelers -2.5 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 7: Cardinals -2 over Ravens (Home)
Week 8: Cardinals -3 over Browns (Away)
Week 9: BYE
Week 10: Seahawks -5.5 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 11: Cardinals -3 over Bengals (Home)
Week 12: 49ers -2 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 13: Rams -1 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 14: Cardinals -5.5 over Vikings (Home)
Week 15: Eagles -1.5 over Cardinals (Away)
Week 16: Pick'em for Cards/Packers (Home)
Week 17: No lines yet
So far, that means an 8-6 record, with Week 16 being a tossup and the last one unknown.
If you take a closer look, Vegas typically gives the home team a standard three-point spread. You will notice that in only one road game -- in Seattle -- the Cards are more than a three-point underdog, which suggests Vegas believes Arizona is the better team.
At the same time, there are three home games where they are favored by less than three -- the Ravens game, the 49ers game and the Packers game.
Obviously, the goal for Vegas is to set a line where there will be roughly an equal amount of money wagered on both teams. But, even knowing that, what do you think of the opening lines for 2015?