Double-digit point spreads are a relatively infrequent occurrence in the NFL.
In Week 7, though, there were three games with double-digit point spreads, and one of those underdogs attracted a massive wager at BetMGM. The bet was $275,000 on the Detroit Lions as 16.5-point road underdogs against the Los Angeles Rams.
The Lions entered Sunday’s action without a win, but with a 3-3 record against the spread. Sunday’s game also marked the return of Jared Goff to Los Angeles after the Rams traded him to Detroit in a deal that sent Matthew Stafford to the Rams and a slew of draft picks and Goff back to the Lions.
Early on, the underdog Lions looked like the better team. They jumped out to a 10-0 first-quarter lead before the Rams rallied back, eventually taking a 17-16 lead into the halftime locker room. The Lions went back ahead with a field goal late in the third, but the Rams scored the game’s final 11 points to win the game 28-19.
For this BetMGM customer, though, it was more than enough to cover the spread and win a huge bet. The return for that wager was $250,000.
Huge Sunday Night Football bet
An even bigger bet came in at BetMGM ahead of the Sunday Night Football game between the Indianapolis Colts and the San Francisco 49ers.
The Colts were 3.5-point underdogs, but they were actually the public side by a pretty significant margin. As of Sunday morning, BetMGM reported that 65% of the bets and 63% of the money were on the Colts. That included a $410,021 wager on the Colts and the points.
On a rainy night in San Francisco, the Colts took advantage of four 49ers turnovers and pulled out a 30-18 victory. Indianapolis’ lead was only 13-12 at halftime and then 20-18 early in the fourth, but two late interceptions thrown by Jimmy Garoppolo ultimately doomed the 49ers.
With the Colts winning outright, the bettor took home $341,684.
Public continues to win big
The Colts were one of the many teams to help the public extend its winning streak over the books to three consecutive weeks.
Last Sunday, Jeff Stoneback, the director of trading for BetMGM, told Yahoo Sports that it was the worst Sunday he’s seen in his 35 years in the business. Week 7 wasn’t quite as bad for the books, but Stoneback said the public crushed it once again.
“It was the third week in a row the public has filled their pockets with money. Last week was our worst loss ever. We were very close to that this week,” Stoneback said.
Stoneback said the public “almost swept the whole board” on Sunday.
He specifically pointed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers covering as 12-point favorites over the Chicago Bears, the Las Vegas Raiders (-1) over the Philadelphia Eagles, the Green Bay Packers (-8.5) over the Washington Football Team, the New England Patriots (-7) over the New York Jets and the Colts (+3.5) over the 49ers as significant winners for the public.
There was just one winner for the book, Stoneback said, and that was the New York Giants beating the Carolina Panthers as 3-point underdogs. Now the books are hoping the public will take these winnings back to the counter next week, as these things tend to even out — and swing back in the house’s favor — over the course of a season.
“They’ve got a fistful of dollars to play with next week after these last three weeks,” Stoneback said.
Best and worst NFL teams ATS
The Dallas Cowboys are off this week and remain the only team to be undefeated against the spread this season at 6-0.
Two others — the Arizona Cardinals and Green Bay Packers — have just one ATS loss. Both are now 6-1 after winning and covering on Sunday. The Cardinals, off to a 7-0 start and the lone unbeaten in the league, cruised past the Houston Texans 31-5 on Sunday, covering as 20-point favorites. The Packers, meanwhile, easily handled Washington 24-10 to cover as 8.5-point favorites.
Washington is one of three teams on the other end of the spectrum with just one ATS victory on the season. Washington has the worst ATS mark at 1-6 while the Jets and 49ers are both 1-5 ATS.
