Sportsbooks have 'another winning week' over NFL bettors in Week 8
Week 8 of the NFL season was a mixed bag for bookmakers and sports bettors alike, but the biggest upset of the day was certainly the Denver Broncos beating the Kansas City Chiefs outright 24-9 as 7-point underdogs.
The day also featured the New York Giants almost winning a game with minus-8 passing yards, Kirk Cousins being potentially lost for the season in an impressive Minnesota Vikings win (and cover) over the Green Bay Packers and the Cincinnati Bengals with an impressive 31-17 upset win as 5-point underdogs in San Francisco.
Here is a Week 8 NFL betting recap:
Week 8 NFL betting picture
Favorites: 5-6-3 against the spread
Overs: 8-6
Broncos upset the Chiefs in Mile High in good afternoon slate for books
Patrick Mahomes had beaten the Broncos 12 straight times to start his career, and Denver had lost an unfathomable 16 straight games to the Chiefs overall. But Mahomes (241 yards passing, 2 INT, one fumble lost) had one of his worst games as a pro, and Denver won outright as a touchdown underdog.
It was one of the biggest results of the day for sportsbooks, as Chiefs -7 was the most-bet game by ticket count at both DraftKings Sportsbook and BetMGM, and the most wagered side at BetMGM. At DraftKings, 85 percent of the bets and 80 percent of the total dollars wagered were on the Chiefs to cover, along with 95 percent of money-line wagers.
“Broncos outright was huge and Bengals was great, too,” John Murray, executive director at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, said via text. “We should be a solid winner for the day.”
One bettor at Caesars Sportsbook had a $210,000 wager on the Broncos +7, which shockingly wasn’t in doubt for the majority of the game. Denver led for over 52 minutes, after going up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.
“It was another winning week for us,” Zachary Lucas, retail sportsbook director at Twin Spires, said via text. “Kansas City losing took out most of the parlays.”
The Bengals (+5) winning outright 31-17 over the 49ers was also a good game for the books, while the Seattle Seahawks (-4) beating the Cleveland Browns on a final-minute TD was a winner for the public.
Caesars Sportsbook director of trading Craig Mucklow said that the book took several big wagers on the 49ers, noting, “Sharps were on the 49ers all week.” Caesars took multiple big bets on San Francisco, including:
-$220,000 on 49ers -4
-$115,000 on 49ers -3
-$110,000 on 49ers -4.5
All of them lost.
“The Seahawks game was good for the bettors,” Adam Pullen, assistant director of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, said. “We laid a couple of chunky bets at -3.5 and got sided. That was the worst result of the day. The Chiefs with straight bets wasn’t a huge win, but the money-line parlays and teasers it knocked out was big. That was the biggest game of the day.”
Bettors were also hurt by a miraculous back-door cover by the Arizona Cardinals (+9.5) against the Baltimore Ravens. Down 16 late in the fourth quarter, the Cardinals scored a touchdown, went for a two-point conversion and missed. They then recovered an onside kick, though, and drove far enough into Baltimore territory to set up a field goal attempt. Matt Prater missed a 42-yard FG, but there was a false start, and Prater hit the resulting 47-yard FG for Arizona to get within the number and lose 31-24.
“Overall it was a winning day!” Chuck Esposito, sportsbook director at Station Casinos said via text. “Morning was horrible, afternoon games saved the day! Huge wins by Cincinnati and Denver and the miracle cover by Arizona completely flipped the script.”
Dolphins, Vikings, Cowboys win for bettors
The Miami Dolphins (-8), Minnesota Vikings (-1) and Dallas Cowboys (-6.5) were all popular wagers for the public and won — and covered — in the early slate. One bettor at Caesars Sportsbook had three legs of an incredible seven-leg Same-Game Parlay cash on Jaylen Waddle’s 31-yard TD catch off of a late 3rd-and-1 play. The bettor wagered $1,500 and ended up winning $99,000.
Quite a SGP hit at @CaesarsSports:
$1,500 $99,000
Dolphins -6.5
Over 41.5
Tyreek Hill Anytime TD
Raheem Mostert Anytime TD
Jaylen Waddle Anytime TD
Tua Tagovailoa 3+ Passing TDs
Kendrick Bourne anytime TDBettor won THREE legs on Miami's late TD on 3rd-and-1 pic.twitter.com/8oRHHu3O6g
— Ben Fawkes (@BFawkes22) October 30, 2023
“The morning wasn’t great, we lost on Miami, Dallas and Minnesota,” Murray said in a text, “but the afternoon more than made up for it.”
Caesars reported that its two worst results were two road favorites winning and covering: The New Orleans Saints (-2.5) beating the Indianapolis Colts 38-27 and the Jacksonville Jaguars (-2.5) beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 20-10.
The Washington Commanders (+7) scoring a late TD to push in a 38-31 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles also helped sportsbooks.
“The Panthers and Vikings were bad for us, but the Eagles push helped,” Christian Cipollini, BetMGM sportsbook trader said in a text. “Great afternoon slate with Broncos win and sneaky cover by Cardinals.”
Notable bets that won
$210,000 on Broncos +7
Notable bets that lost
$220,000 on 49ers -4 at Caesars
$115,000 on 49ers -3 at Caesars
$110,000 on 49ers -4.5 at Caesars