A back-and-forth battle between bettors and the sportsbooks during Sunday’s Week 11 likely turned out to be a slightly better day for the house.
Key Takeaways
- Teams getting 60% of the spread handle at BetMGM went 3-7 on Sunday.
- The 49ers, Bills, and Steelers were winners for the public.
- Sportsbooks did well on Denver’s upset of Kansas City.
Favorites covered six of the 13 spreads and 9-4 straight up on Sunday, but teams that were getting at least 60% of the money at BetMGM went just 3-7 ATS.
“Overall, the day was fairly balanced between bettors and the book,” said Joey Feazel, Caesars Sportsbook’s head of football. “Things started in the customers’ favor with the Dolphins taking advantage of late mistakes by the Commanders in Madrid. The morning slate was dominated by Bills–Buccaneers, which proved strong for bettors, especially with favorable SGP outcomes.
“In the afternoon, the 49ers’ big win leaned toward the bettors, while the Rams winning without covering made it more of a split result. The Chiefs–Broncos matchup swung back to the book, as action was heavily tilted toward Kansas City.”
Winners and losers
Buffalo’s 44-32 win over the Bucs was definitely a highlight win for bettors at BetMGM, where 79% of the money was backing the 6-point home favorite, while the 49ers were getting 85% of the handle in an easy 41-22 win over the Cardinals.
The public also did well on the Steelers, who crushed the Bengals 34-12 despite quarterback Aaron Rodgers leaving the game early with a wrist injury. Nearly 60% of the money was on Pittsburgh.
In one of the most bet games of the day, Denver’s 22-19 win over the Chiefs was the big one for the house, as BetMGM had 68% of the money come in on Kansas City. The sportsbooks also did well on the Vikings’ 19-17 home loss to the Bears, Feazel said.
At BetMGM, two teams getting over 80% of the money – the Falcons and Packers – failed to cover on Sunday, and it helped that the Texans didn’t blow out the Titans. The Chargers were getting over 80% of the moneyline handle, but they got rocked 35-6 by the Jaguars, who received the majority of spread money.
Primetime push?
The game of the week turned out to be mostly a wash. As a 2.5-point favorite on Sunday night, the Eagles won 16-9 over the Lions, who did receive an $82,000 spread wager at Caesars.
Detroit was getting 56% of the spread tickets at BetMGM as of early Sunday, but Philadelphia had a slight 51% of the money, indicating a balance for the sportsbook. The total mirrored the spread as the money was nearly even at BetMGM.
Over 60% of the moneyline handle was backing the Lions, though, so the operator came out on top there.
Staying alive
The Circa Survivor contest saw little movement after Sunday. Nearly 45% of the remaining 1,000 entries made it through Week 11 when the Patriots beat the Jets on Thursday night. Wins by the Texans, Steelers, Packers, and Ravens helped another 43% of the field advance.
The Falcons’ loss did the most damage, knocking out 43 participants. Losses by the Vikings, Chargers, and Chiefs eliminated 17 more. Just 2.5% of the Week 11 contestants are on the Cowboys on Monday night.
MNF preview
Unsurprisingly, bettors are all over Dallas heading into the contest at Las Vegas, and a Raiders upset could sway the week for the books. One of the most-bet teams every week is a 3.5-point favorite and getting 78% of the spread handle and 83% of the tickets at DraftKings.
BetMGM has seen 81% of the bets and 83% of the money come in on the Cowboys, who are also getting 76% of the moneyline handle. More than 85% of the money in the outright market is on Dallas at DraftKings, while the total of 50.5 is a dead-even split.
Las Vegas tight end Brock Bowers’ over 72.5 receiving yards (-140) is the most-bet player prop at BetMGM for this game, and Cowboys WR CeeDee Lamb is the most popular player in the anytime touchdown market.
