NFL Wild Card betting recap: Favorites winning, covering stings books

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

Much like the overwhelming majority of the regular season, the public betting masses secured the biggest results on NFL Wild Card Weekend odds.

Bettors loved the Baltimore Ravens, Buffalo Bills and Philadelphia Eagles. All three won and covered, and the last of those stung the most.

“We got killed by the Eagles covering,” BetMGM Nevada’s Scott Shelton said.

But the bettors gave a little back over the weekend, as well. Oddsmakers at sportsbooks across the country recap the weekend that was in NFL wild-card betting.

Philly Fanatics

At BetMGM, the Eagles closed as 5.5-point home favorites vs. the Green Bay Packers. Philly wasn’t exactly dominant on offense, but forced four turnovers en route to a 22-10 victory.

Customers at BetMGM’s Las Vegas sportsbooks were all over the favorite in the second of Sunday’s three games on the NFL wild-card oddsboard.

“There was way more money on the Eagles. Add that to the Bills’ cover, and it starts to snowball with parlays and teasers,” Shelton said.

The Bills began Sunday with a 31-7 rout of the Broncos, outscoring Denver 21-0 in the second half to easily cover as 7.5-point home favorites.

Nationwide, the Bills and Eagles were Nos. 1-2, respectively, at BetMGM in point-spread tickets and money among wild-card teams. Likewise, DraftKings Sportsbook saw lopsided action on the Bills and Eagles.

Honestly, the Eagles just winning — not even covering — was a big boost for the public betting masses. That’s because Philadelphia was the final leg on a lot of moneyline parlays — particularly Ravens to Bills to Eagles. Baltimore dumped Pittsburgh 28-14 on Saturday night.

Better still, many bettors linked Ohio State to Ravens/Bills/Eagles on moneyline parlays. The Buckeyes opened the weekend Friday night with a 28-14 win over Texas in the College Football Playoff semifinals.

“A lot of moneyline parlays ended with the Eagles game,” SuperBook vice president John Murray said.

‘NFL on FOX’ crew breaks down Eagles’ win over Packers

Deep In The Heart Of Texans

The only matchup that substantially boosted the books and beat the bettors: the Los Angeles Chargers vs. the Houston Texans, the opening game in the NFL wild-card odds market.

Public bettors were all over Jim Harbaugh and the Chargers as 2.5-point road favorites Saturday. But C.J. Stroud and the Texans rolled to a 32-12 victory.

“Everybody was betting the Chargers. It was one of our most lopsided games of the season. Roughly 90% of bets came in on the Chargers,” BetMGM national trading manager Christian Cipollini.

On a smaller scale, it worked out well for BetMGM’s Vegas operations, too.

“That was a parlay-and-teaser buster. We just needed it to stay under the total for the clean sweep. But we don’t want to get greedy,” Shelton said.

The Chargers-Texans total was 41.5. Houston running back Joe Mixon’s 17-yard touchdown run with 3:42 to go accounted for the final score and clinched the Over.

Command Performance

Oddsmakers also got a break Sunday night, when the Washington Commanders went on the road and knocked off the Tampa Bay Buccaneers 23-20 on a final-second field goal. Jayden Daniels & Co. were 3-point road underdogs.

“That is big. It’s still not a great day, but Washington winning helps,” The SuperBook’s Murray said.

Added BetMGM Nevada’s Shelton: “We needed the Commanders’ parlay-buster outright win tonight.”

Washington’s winning points weren’t without drama, as place-kicker Zane Gonzalez banked it off the right upright and through the goalposts.

“Maybe the Commanders had good karma from dumping Dan Snyder. That’s how it doinked in,” South Point sportsbook director Chris Andrews said.

Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.