By Bill Speros | | 10 mins
NFL Week 14 Betting Recap: 'Worst Weekend Of The Year'
A blizzard of chalk swept across the NFL betting nation in Week 14, burying the books and turning the map green for the wagering masses from SoFi Stadium to FedEx Field, north to Green Bay and south to the Florida Gulf Coast.
The βworst weekend of the yearβ for at least one book stuffed the wallets of the betting public just in time for the closing stretch of the holiday shopping season.
Or the Monday night game between the Rams and Cardinals. Whichever comes first.
For the second week in a row, nearly every game carrying the lopsided liability had betting sites and sportsbooks shoveling out from under a mountain of winning slips for bettors.
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The publicβs success against NFL odds carried over into props and parlay bets, as popular props on the likes of Tom Brady, Aaron Rodgers, Davante Adams, Alvin Kamara, Dalvin Cook , and even Josh Allen, smashed through the over on their totals.
At WynnBET, three of the bookβs top four liabilities all went the publicβs way. And the fourth saw serious line movement during the week. The Broncos (-11) ended the betting joyride of the Detroit Lions in a 38-10 rout.
At Tampa Bay, Tom Brady turned back into The GOAT in overtime after the Bucs blew a 21-point lead in the second half. The Buccaneers (-3) crushed the souls of Bills Mafia with a 33-27 overtime win. That game ended with the 700th TD pass of Bradyβs career, including the postseason. Finally, the visiting Seattle Seahawks (-9) found their footing with a 33-13 victory at Houston. The public backed those games with 74.1%, 77.3% and 89.9% of the handle money, respectively, on the site.
The Browns closed at -3 against the Ravens after opening at even. A total of 80.3% of the spread handle supported Cleveland. So depending on when you wagered, you might have cashed backing the Browns in a 24-22 win.
Week 14 Betting By The Numbers
There were four games Sunday had more than 75% of spread handle riding with the public at DraftKings Sportsbook and FanDuel Sportsbook. The books lost on all of them. Hereβs a look:
| Game | Result | Spread | Public % |
|---|---|---|---|
| NO at NYJ | NO, 30-9 | NO -5 | 86% at FanDuel |
| SEA at HOU | SEA, 33-13 | SEA -9 | 82% at DraftKings |
| JAX at TEN | TEN, 20-0 | TEN -8.5 | 80% at DraftKings |
| NYG at LAC | LAC, 37-21 | LAC -9 | 79% at FanDuel |
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The run on unders this season hit some black ice, giving the books a bit of oxygen. Unders were 109-84-2 (56.4%) heading into Week 14. It was the highest rate since 1986, according to Elias Sports.
At Caesars Sportsbook, 11 of the 13 games played in Week 14 had the majority of money wagered on the under. But seven of those went over the total. That included the Falcons-Panthers game, which saw 95% of the handle liability wagered under the total of 41. The Falcons won 29-21.
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βWorst Weekend Of The Yearβ
The feedback from the books following Sundayβs carnage confirm what the numbers told us.
βIn a word: βTerrible.β Straight up, parlays, teasers . . . we lost on all of it,β said Borgata AC Race and Sports Book Director Thomas Gable.
βIt was just a great day for the bettors. At least people will some have some extra Christmas money to spend.βThe MGM Lion was declawed, as well.
βChristmas came early for sports bettors on Sunday in the NFL with the favorites covering. It was the worst weekend of the year for the sportsbook,β said Jason Scott, VP of Trading at BetMGM Sportsbook.
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As was the case elsewhere, the Tampa Bay-Buffalo game was close to a two-way play at the Borgata.
βThe Bucs-Bills game was a mixed bag for us,β Gable said. βWe needed Tampa on the spread as we had liability on Buffalo but so many favorites came in that adding Tampa to all of the moneyline parlay liability didnβt help matters overall for us.β
The first 13 games of Week 14 saw the favorites go 11-2. It was worst week of the year for the dogs. Betting underdogs have seen their season advantage consistently slip since Week 8. The pups still hold a 109-95-1 (53.1%) edge after 205 games. But the public is gaining.
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Week 14 NFL Betting Trends
Close Calls Continue
Spread, total and moneyline bettors were unable to relax until the final gun for much of the day Sunday after they were forced to stay up for the completion of the Thursday night game won by the Vikings (barely) over the Steelers.
A total 28 games, or nearly two full weeks of play, have been decided by a game-winning score on the final play this season. Thatβs the most through Week 14 in the history of the league. We had two more of those outcomes on Sunday. One was the aforementioned 33-27 OT win by the Buccaneers over Buffalo. Bradyβs former teammate Jimmy Garoppolo lifted the 49ers over the Bengals 26-23 in overtime with a 12-yard TD pass to Brandon Aiyuk.
In both games, neither the spread nor total was settled until the final play.
The NFL says 39 games have seen the game-winning score happen in the final minute of regulation or OT this year. Thus far in 2021, 17 games have gone into overtime.
Major Week 14 Wagers
There were Big Bets aplenty in Week 14. Here are some notable net wins and losses:
- Win $325,000: Buccaneers -3.5 (-120) Over Bills at BetMGM
- Win $325,000: 49ers -1 (-110) Over Bengals at BetMGM
- Win $275,000: Cheifs -9.5 (-110) Over Raiders at BetMGM
- Loss $357,000: Browns -2.5 (-110) Over Ravens at Caesars Sportsbook (OUCH!)
- Loss $357,000: Panthers -2.5 (-110) Over Bengals at Caesars Sportsbook
- Push $285,000: Washington +7 (-125) Over Cowboys at Caesars Sportsbook
- Loss $165,000: Bills -3.5 (-110) Over Buccaneers at Caesars Sportsbook
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Plays Of The Day
Who doesnβt like cake?
The Chicago D/ST just made one bettor a WHOLE LOT of bread π€
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) December 13, 2021
$75 β‘οΈ $18,016.17
(via @Cakes_Voice) pic.twitter.com/D0cjHxafV5
Not quite as lucrative as the lottery, but a lot more fun.
This bettor got the first TD scorer in ππππ different games correct, WILD π₯
— FanDuel Sportsbook (@FDSportsbook) December 13, 2021
$5.00 β‘οΈ $7,585.20
(via IG / corbinmarx) pic.twitter.com/sjwWV4Z15m
But is she still your girlfriend?
My GF bout to hit 11k off of $5. Just needs Pack/Bears to go over 43 points @BetMGM pic.twitter.com/1vyyU2xQVl
— Terrance (@Teescrazylife) December 13, 2021
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Monday Night Preview: LA Rams at Arizona Cardinals
Check out: Cardinals vs. Rams odds, injury report, betting lines and more.
The fate of the NFC West and the top seed in the NFC will undoubtedly be impacted by the result of the Monday night game between the host Arizona Cardinals (10-2) and the sinking LA Rams (8-4). The Cardinals beat the Rams in LA 37-20 in Week 4.
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The Cardinals boast the best record in the NFL and are third in the league ATS at 9-3, much to the joy of Arizona sports betting backers. The Rams, however, are below .500 (5-7) vs. the line. All four of their outright losses came as betting favorites. The Rams are underdogs for just the second time all season. The last time the Rams were betting underdogs, they beat the Buccaneers (-1) in Week 3 at home 34-24.
The Cardinals opened as 4.5-point favorites. This line has slid to 2.5. The total spiked from 48 points to 51.5 points, but has since settled at 51, according to our consensus analysis of several top sportbooks, including bet365, PointsBet and FOX Bet.
Teams on Bye in Week 14: New England Patriots, Miami Dolphins, Philadelphia Eagles and Indianapolis Colts.
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