How to Bet on American Football

American football is the most popular sport in America, beating basketball and hockey in terms of popularity.

Football games attract millions of TV viewers and hundreds of thousands of stadium spectators across the U.S. The sport is unparalleled in terms of breathtaking action, fervor, and breakneck game. If you're looking for practical advice, especially on other leagues, you can also visit XFL betting tips for more info.

Yearly, the Super Bowl, the final game of the NFL season, is watched by nearly 100 million Americans. Other common competitions are NCAA, XFL, CIF, IFL, and NAL.

Wagering on American football is available from most bookies. Appropriate analysis and use of strategies can result in profit from bets on this sport.

Features of American Football Betting

American football is a contact sport involving two groups of 11 players each.

Rules of American Football

Played on a 120-yard by 53.3-yard field and four 15-minute quarters.

Goal is to have the most points.

Ways to get points:

• Touchdown – 6 points for running the ball into the other team's end zone.
• Extra points after touchdown – 1 point for a kick or 2 points for a conversion.
• Field goal – 3 points for kicking the ball through the uprights.
• Safety – 2 points for knocking an opponent out of their own end zone.

The offense gets 4 opportunities to move the ball 10 yards per possession. On success, another 4 opportunities are earned; on failure, the ball is surrendered to the other team.

Overtime is played in case of a tie after normal game time – 10 minutes in the regular season and 15 minutes in the post-season.

Key Elements of Wagering on American Football

• Pre-game analysis is necessary: favorites win the majority of the time, but without accurate analytics it is hard to profit in the long run.
• The weather also comes into play: rain will typically depress scores.
• Value bets can be picked up early before enormous sums of betting distort the odds.
• Home bias and turf (natural grass or artificial surface) can also influence results.

Main Bet Types

• Moneyline (Winner) – predict the winner. Draws are negligible due to overtime rules. Since 1974, only 26 ties have occurred in the NFL.
• Handicap (Spread) – wagering on the margin of victory/defeat, typically -2.5/+3.5 or -6.5/+7.5.
• Totals (Over/Under) – wagering on total points. Average games produce around 43 points, and standard totals are 41 or 44.
• Quarters and Halves – wagers on shorter periods; results less certain.
• Special Bets – markets like first team to score, winning margin, or first scoring play.
• Player/Team Statistics – wagers on touchdowns, field goals, yards gained, interceptions, etc.
• Futures – long-term bets on Super Bowl winners, conference titles, or division titles.

Making Accurate Forecasts

Savvy wagering on American football involves considering many factors:

• Shape of the team and individual players – immediate form and condition.
• Stats – scoring averages, touchdowns, field goals, and safeties.
• Head-to-head records – some opponents consistently good or bad.
• Lineups – suspension and injury.
• Motivation – the stakes of the game.
• Home-field benefit – teams perform better at home.
• Weather conditions – heat, rain, or snow may influence outcomes.

Favorites win most of the time, but wagering blindly on them will take away your bankroll.

Betting Strategies

Miller's Mathematical Model

This strategy analyzes attack and defense ratings from the previous 5 matches:

• For offense rating: discard highest and lowest totals, average the remaining 3.
• For defense rating: do the same with points allowed.

A forecast is derived by combining offense and defense ratings and discounting by -20. It is utilized to assist in making spreads, totals, or results.

Comeback Favorite

At times a favorite is trailing 7 or 14 points. The favorite can be wagered to win straight up or with a positive spread by bettors.

This strategy works best when high-power teams possess pre-game high odds of winning. It has to be combined with Flat betting (1–5% bankroll per bet).

Martingale ("Chase") Strategy

Here, the bettor consistently bets on one event with odds of 2.00 or more. When the bet loses, the bet increases to cover losses and make profit with the next win.

This is for live bets (underdog winning a quarter) or pre-match totals (over/under).