Sportsbooks suffer carnage and worst result in NFL Week 6 since 2018

The bettor turns a $10 bet into a win of $131,000

Week 6 of the 2024 NFL season was a bloodbath for the leading online sportsbooks. Since sports betting was legalized in the United States in 2018, no NFL betting week has been worse for sportsbooks than Week 6. It began on Thursday with an NFC West showcase and the San Francisco 49ers’ 36-24 road win over the Seattle Seahawks. It ended with a penalty shootout in the AFC East primetime on Monday Night Football and the Buffalo Bills’ 23-20 road win against the New York Jets.

“It was the worst NFL Sunday for sports betting,” MGM Media and PR said in an email. “It was our first losing week this season.”

That’s because the NFL favorites dominated Week 6, going 13-1 straight up (SU) and 11-2-1 against the spread (ATS). This means that the Chicago Bears are favorites for their 35:16 victory over the Jacksonville Jaguars in London. The Bears were the favorite all week, and then money flowed into the Jaguars in the hours before kickoff early Sunday, making the Jags a slight favorite. That was the only win of the day for most sports bettors, noted Jeff Benson, director of Circa Sports.

Each week during football season, public bettors back more NFL teams as betting favorites than as underdogs. This is especially true for the prime-time night games on Thursday, Sunday and Monday. Parlays on the favorites and above The total score stood at 4-0 late in the afternoon on Sunday, October 13th, dealing another major blow to sportsbooks as none of the games were really in doubt for the favorites.

Then on Sunday Night Football, the Cincinnati Bengals running back broke off a 30-yard touchdown run in the final two minutes of the game to give the Bengals (-4) odds-on dessert and after-dinner treat, tied at 17 :7 to win over the New York Giants.

Sportsbooks took a hit on two of the most-betted teams as favorites as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Detroit Lions won as away favorites. The Bucs defeated the New Orleans Saints 51-27 and the Lions defeated the Dallas Cowboys 47-9.

Fanatics Sportsbook reported that Tampa Bay took more than 90% of the tickets and 95% of the handle (money) of all Buccaneers-Saints spread bets. The Buccaneers had the second-largest distribution of tickets and handles of any team in Week 6, trailing only the Lions in both categories. Bettors also pegged the Houston Texans and Atlanta Falcons as away favorites, picking up two more crucial double-digit wins against two of the league’s worst teams, the New England Patriots (1-5) and Carolina Panthers (1-5).

Bettors pocket six figures on a $10 parlay bet

Another historic milestone was the failure of the home underdogs in Week 6. The away favorites went 9-0 SU and ATS. So covering the spread with the favorites also meant that moneyline bets and parlays paid off for more bettors.

A Pennsylvania bettor at Fanatics Sportsbook had six of these away favorites on the spread, along with the Bears and Eagles (Moneyline) plus eight games Over the sum. All 16 legs of his parlay scored, turning a $10 parlay bet into a massive $131,390 win.

“Week 12 of the 2023 season was the biggest day for customers yet as the finishing favorites went 12-4 SU and ATS. That has far eclipsed that,” Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading at Caesars Sportsbook, told Only Players.

Sports betting and online operators are still open for business despite the worst NFL betting results since sports betting was legalized in the US in 2018. They’re already running more one-sided betting action on Week 7 favorites Chargers (-2.5) over Cardinals, Eagles (-3) over Giants, Rams (-6.5) over Raiders, Bengals (-6.5) over Browns, Falcons (-3) over the Seahawks and the Broncos in Thursday night’s opener (-2.5) over the Saints in New Orleans as bettors are betting on another Very easy.

You can bet on it.

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