There's an alternate universe where Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers had totally dismantled the New Orleans Saints, who went with Jameis Winston as Drew Brees' successor, in Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season. That's not the universe we are all in, which is where the opposite happened, as the Saints took Rodgers and the Packers apart and Jameis Winston looked more like a Hall of Famer than Green Bay's star quarterback.
Not a lot of people — or bettors — believed Jameis Winston had it in him to lead the Saints to a victory at home over the Packers. All those who put money on the Packers to win and cover the 3.5-point spread as road favorites watched with their fists getting tighter each time Jameis Winston completed a pass and threw a touchdown in New Orleans' 38-3 demolition job of Green Bay Sunday night.
Green Bay was reportedly the team that took the most action in Week 1, and its loss to the Saints is now the unquestioned highlight of the week for underdogs, per Darren Rovell of The Action Network.
Some of the day’s most popular sides didn’t even come close to covering. According to Sports Insights, the Green Bay Packers were the most popular bet of the day, attracting 74% of the bets as 3.5-point favorites against the Saints. At PointsBet, 80% of the money was on the Pack. The Saints would go on to win, 38-3.
“Packers game turned it all around for us,” said DraftKings head of trading Johnny Avello. “A Monster handle overall. Feels like more dogs won than Joey Chestnut ate on the Fourth of July.”
Winston finished the contest with 148 passing yards and five touchdowns on 14-of-20 completions. Perhaps the best part of it all was that he disappointed everyone who waited all game for him to throw the interception they became so familiar with while watching him play for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers before.
Jameis Winston is not superior to Aaron Rodgers, but the Saints' quarterback will always have Week 1 of the 2021 NFL season.
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