Patrick Everson
FOX Sports Betting Analyst
Sunday wasn’t huge for the public betting masses or the bookmakers. Rather, it was a slow grind in the NFL Week 13 odds market.
But with the very public Buffalo Bills rolling over the San Francisco 49ers in the day’s finale, bettors moved ahead at the finish line.
“We lost a little bit every session — early games, late games and tonight,” BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said late Sunday night. “The Bills destroying the 49ers was probably the single biggest loser.”
Oddsmakers at sportsbooks across the country recap the weekend that was in NFL and college football betting.
Bettors Back Buffalo
Sunday morning, BetMGM was already concerned with the final game of the day. The Bills were drawing the most bets and the most money of any team in the Week 13 NFL odds market.
Said trading manager Christian Cipollini: “The 49ers are the biggest need.”
That need grew throughout the day, drawing this comment from BetMGM senior trader Tristan Davis: “We just need the 49ers to win.”
But San Fran couldn’t keep up with Buffalo, which rolled 35-10 as a 6.5-point home favorite.
“Bettors probably came out on top after that last game,” Davis said.
Bucs Beat Bookmakers
When the Carolina Panthers took a 23-20 lead over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers with just 30 seconds left, oddsmakers were looking at a day-saving scenario. The Bucs were in pretty much all the moneyline parlays, so an outright Tampa loss would ruin those tickets — many of which included Buffalo on Sunday night.
But in those 30 seconds, Baker Mayfield got the Bucs in position for a 51-yard field goal, which Chase McLaughlin made to tie it at 23 and force overtime. Then Tampa won 26-23 on a 30-yard McLaughlin field goal.
So a lot of moneyline parlays lived on and ultimately cashed with Buffalo on Sunday night.
“Tampa was the big swing against us. If Carolina could’ve held on, it would have been a pretty good day,” Davis said.
Added John Murray, executive director of The SuperBook: “That would’ve been by far our best result of the weekend. We had a chance for a great afternoon, but the Panthers didn’t get there.”
Murray also lamented Kirk Cousins throwing four interceptions — including a pick-six — in the Atlanta Falcons’ 17-13 home loss to the Los Angeles Chargers. The game closed as a pick ‘em, so the Chargers covered.
“What on earth is Cousins doing out there?” Murray said afterward. “We needed Atlanta pretty big.”
Buccaneers vs. Panthers: Chris Myers & Mark Schlereth break down Tampa Bay’s OT win
Pennsylvania Play
The Pittsburgh Steelers and Philadelphia Eagles were popular road underdogs in Week 13 NFL odds.
And not just to cover short point spreads, but to win those games outright.
BetMGM saw heavy moneyline play on the Steelers at Cincinnati, and on the Eagles at Baltimore. In fact, the two most-bet underdogs to win outright Sunday were Pittsburgh and Philly.
The Steelers won a wild one 44-38, and Philly topped Baltimore 24-19.
On Campus
A week ago, South Point sportsbook was reveling in the SEC chaos. There was more college football chaos on Saturday, but it didn’t go nearly as well for sportsbook director Chris Andrews and his risk team.
While most books were pleased to see Michigan — a 19.5-point road underdog — shock Ohio State 13-10, South Point wasn’t one of them.
“Everybody here had Michigan. We needed Ohio State to cover,” Andrews said.
The public betting masses did well on several key games at South Point, including:
- Illinois beating Northwestern 38-28 to cover as a 10-point road favorite
- Arizona State drilling Arizona 49-7 to cover as a 7.5-point road favorite
- Texas Tech, a 2.5-point home favorite, wiping out West Virginia 52-15
- Air Force covering as a 6-point road favorite in a 31-20 win at San Diego State
“The customers had a very good day. And it was the little guys. Parlays and parlay cards killed us,” Andrews said.
Michigan Wolverines vs. No. 2 Ohio State Buckeyes Highlights
But going back to Michigan-Ohio State, the Wolverines’ stunning upset win was generally a boon for the national books, including Caesars Sports.
“Considering Michigan only scored 13 points, you would think Ohio State would have potentially covered, had you not watched the game,” said Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sports. “Michigan did the book a favor.”
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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