Ravens turn bettors upside down
It was another wild week of betting in the NFL, with underdogs going 9-6 ATS entering Monday night and sportsbooks rejoicing after the Ravens defeated the Chiefs as 3.5-point home underdogs on Sunday night.
Here’s a snapshot of how the bettors and books did in Week 2.
Books love Baltimore: For most sportsbooks, the day was going to be made by the result of the Chiefs-Ravens game. At DraftKings Sportsbook, 86 percent of bets and 92 percent of the money early on Sunday were on the Chiefs -3.5 to cover — a number that only grew. At WynnBet, 90 percent of the bets and 94 percent of the money were on Kansas City to cover. It was the most-bet game of the week at BetMGM. Every sportsbook needed Baltimore to at least cover — and a win outright would’ve been better — and that’s exactly what happened.
A late Clyde Edwards-Helaire fumble and a fourth-down gamble by the Ravens led to a 36-35 win for Baltimore and a massive victory for the sportsbooks.
BetMGM took a $250,000 parlay on the Chiefs -3.5 and the Over, which didn’t come through. And not only was the Kansas City side a hugely popular play (especially after opening as low as -1.5), but the Chiefs were in many moneyline parlays as well.
“All the public play was on the Chiefs,” said Scott Shelton, sportsbook supervisor at The Mirage. “A huge relief. We were up big for the day, and would’ve given it all back.”
It wasn’t all pretty for sportsbooks, though, as William Hill reported taking a $400,000 wager on the Ravens +4, which cashed. Heartbreak for one Colts backer :It was a tough Sunday for one bettor at
The Borgata in Atlantic City who wagered $440,000 on the Colts first-half +3 vs. the Rams. The Colts came away from two goal-to-go situations in the first half with zero points and were down 10-6 at halftime as a result.
“We ended up with a decent day,” said Thomas Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata. “Not nearly as good Week 1 in terms of hold percentage, but those days don’t happen too frequently.”
The Colts did end up covering the game 27-24, which was one of the best results of the day for PointsBet, as 87 percent of spread bets and 80 percent of spread handle were on the Rams.
Bettors win with Bills, Bucs, Broncos: The Bucs moneyline was a popular play at many sportsbooks, and the Bucs easily won 48-25 over the Falcons.
“It was a good bounce-back week for the public,” BetRivers sportsbook manager Zach Schlouch told VSiN before the Sunday night game. “The three biggest decisions of the day all went their way [Cowboys, Bills, Bears] and the Bucs were a sizable liability as well.”
The Broncos beating the Jaguars 23-13 and the Bills blanking the Dolphins 35-0 were other great results for bettors.
Notable winning bets: $300,000 on Bills -3 at Caesars ... $300,000 on Panthers moneyline + 140 at Caesars ... $250,000 on Cowboys + 3.5 (-110) at Caesars ... $250,000 on Cowboys-Chargers Under 55.5 (-110) at Caesars ... $100,000 Titans second-half PK at BetMGM.
Notable losing bets: $440,000 on Colts first half +3 at BetMGM ... $300,000 on Browns -12.5 at Caesars ... $295,000 on Saints -3.5 at Caesars ... $220K Vikings-Cardinals second half Over 27.5 at BetMGM.
Ben Fawkes writes for VSiN.com. VSiN programming can be heard on iHeartRadio platforms.