NFL betting odds were being greatly affected on Sunday as big name quarterbacks were injured. NFL lines on the Pittsburgh Steelers were greatly impacted when quarterback Ben Roethlisberger was held out of their game against Baltimore. Arizona did not play quarterback Kurt Warner against Tennessee and the NFL lines changed dramatically in that game as well. NFL odds on the Atlanta Falcons were not impacted at the beginning but they were at the half. The Falcons lost quarterback Matt Ryan to an injury in the first quarter. They also lost running back Michael Turner to injury. Ryan injured his big toe and did not return while Turner injured his ankle and did not come back. Backup quarterback Chris Redman came in and led the Falcons to the game winning TD late in the game against Tampa Bay.
While Ryan was injured during the game, Roethlisberger and Warner were held out before the NFL odds action began. Warner was held out as a precaution after getting hit in the head last week in NFL lines action. That meant Matt Leinart was starting for Arizona for the first time since 2007 in NFL betting odds. The Cardinals have a big lead in their division as NFL betting odds stats show, so they could afford to take it easy with Warner. What that meant is that Leinart was facing Vince Young, the Tennessee quarterback in a rematch of their national championship game.
The other big quarterback news in NFL odds revolved around Ben Roethlisberger. Big Ben had practiced all week and looked like a sure starter on Sunday night against Baltimore in NFL lines but he had some headaches after practicing and the Steelers decided to play it safe and hold him out. Dennis Dixon got the start for the Steelers in their big game on Sunday night against Baltimore in NFL betting odds. The Steelers lost backup Charlie Batch last week in the NFL betting odds loss to Kansas City.
Pittsburgh was totally convinced this NFL odds week that Roethlisberger would play. They didn’t even sign a backup until Thursday in NFL betting odds and that was Tyler Palko who doesn’t even know the offense. The Steelers prepared all NFL odds week with the idea that Big Ben would play.
Part of Pittsburgh’s decision could be based on the NFL’s taking a stance on concussions recently. The NFL has sent a memo to teams cautioning them about putting players on the field that have had recent concussions.