Week 16’s Sunday slate didn’t seem to matter much for one U.S. sportsbook.
Key Takeaways
- Caesars’ head of football says Seahawks-Rams was the second-best outcome of the season for bettors.
- The public also did well Saturday, picking the Eagles and Bears.
- The Bengals, Vikings, and Saints were among Sunday’s winning teams that went against the sportsbook.
Caesars had already conceded the week to the bettors after a favorable Thursday and Saturday for the public.
“The week was decided in favor of the customers early. Everyone was expecting Joshua to knock out Paul in Round 1, except the Rams and Seahawks Same Game Parlays delivered the Christmas bonanza and made it a festive week all around for the bettors after one game,” Joey Feazel, Caesars' head of football, said.
“Saturday continued in the same manner with popular teams Eagles and Bears winning and the big comeback in Chicago was the icing on the yule log. A knockout Christmas week in favor of the customers.”
With Monday night’s 49ers-Colts game still to go, Feazel said the Seahawks' wild 38-37 overtime win over the Rams on Thursday was the second-biggest win of the year for the public, behind only Bills-Ravens from Week 1, another prime-time showdown.
Philadelphia covered as a touchdown favorite against Washington before Chicago rallied to a 22-16 victory as a slight closing favorite Saturday.
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Bettors keep it rolling
On Sunday, the Vikings’ close cover as 2.5-point favorites at the Giants and the Saints rolling past the Jets were big winners for the bettors, Feazel said. He added they also “rode the Bengals’ far superior QB” in Cincinnati’s 45-21 victory over Miami as 3.5-point favorites.
Counting Thursday and Saturday, favorites are 6-9 against the spread and 9-6 straight up in Week 16, but bettors were backing some underdogs Sunday.
At BetMGM, the Patriots were the second most-bet team by tickets, and they scored an impressive 28-24 win on the road at Baltimore on Sunday night. The Titans were the most-bet team by handle, and they beat a banged-up Kansas City team outright as 3.5-point underdogs.
The Chargers also won, getting 1.5 points at Dallas as the second-most-bet team at BetMGM.
Wins for books
The sportsbooks got some back on the Bills, who were unable to cover as 10.5-point favorites, edging the Browns 23-20 on Sunday. Buffalo was getting 80% of the spread money at BetMGM. That game also helped break up parlays.
The Steelers, who were only getting 22% of the spread handle, won outright as 8-point underdogs away to the Lions, one of the most-bet teams every week. The Texans beating the Raiders by just two points as double-digit favorites was also a big win for the operators.
The Broncos -3.5 were a popular pick, but the Jaguars dominated in an impressive 34-20 victory. BetMGM’s most-bet total, Bills-Browns under 41.5, just went over the number as well to score a victory for the book.
MNF insights
San Francisco heads into the final game of Week 16 with a playoff spot secured, but the 49ers are still popular 5.5-point favorites over a Colts team that must win or be eliminated from postseason contention.
More than 65% of the tickets and the money at BetMGM is backing the favorites on Monday. DraftKings reported that 78% of the handle and 71% of the bets are on San Francisco, which is also getting 72% of the moneyline handle.
Bettors are hoping for a big game from 49ers running back Christian McCaffrey, whose over 38.5 receiving yards is the most popular player prop at BetMGM. His -210 to score an anytime touchdown and +335 to be the first scorer lead both of those markets.
