For six straight years, the Chicago Bears haven’t had a winning season, failing to get more than eight wins. The past four years saw records of 6-11, 3-14, 7-10, then 5-12 last season.
Armed with that information, a BetRivers customer still went to the betting window and dropped a hefty six-figure wager on Bears Over 8.5 wins this season.
Apparently, it was a case of well-placed faith in Ben Johnson.
More on that massive payday, profitable parlays, fun wins and other big bets as we recap NFL betting this past weekend.
This page may contain affiliate links to legal sports betting partners. If you sign up or place a wager, FOX Sports may be compensated. Read more about Sports Betting on FOX Sports.
Sweet Home Chicago
Back in August, the BetRivers patron ponied up $300,000 on Bears Over 8.5 wins at odds of +110. Two weeks into the regular season, that looked like a severe misallocation of funds.
The Bears opened with two straight losses, at home against the Vikings and on the road against the Lions. Week 2 was particularly embarrassing, as Chicago got steamrolled 52-21 in Detroit.
At that point, you could forgive anyone who figured this season would be more of the same in the Windy City: a lot of losing.
However, the Bears have since lost just once. And believe it or not, at 9-3, Chicago would be the No. 1 seed in the NFC if the playoffs began this week.
Here’s more, believe it or not: With five games remaining, that bettor has stunningly already cashed in.
On Friday, the Bears went to Philadelphia as 7-point underdogs and exited with a 24-15 outright upset. That victory brought the big bet home, as the customer collected $330,000 in profit, for a total payout of $630,000.
Parlay Partay
A Fanatics Sportsbook customer did more than feast on food this Thanksgiving. The bettor put $200 on a half-dozen players to score a touchdown at any point during their respective games.
One player per team, in fact.
Lions running back David Montgomery kick-started the six-leg parlay with a second-quarter touchdown run vs. the Packers. Then Green Bay wideout Christian Watson got there on a 51-yard bomb from Jordan Love for a third-quarter touchdown.
In Thursday’s second game, Chiefs vs. Cowboys, the bettor never had to sweat while getting the next two legs through. Dallas wideout CeeDee Lamb scored midway through the first quarter, and K.C. tight end Travis Kelce followed in the final minute of the first quarter.
Then came the Bengals–Ravens nightcap. Baltimore running back Derrick Henry struck paydirt midway through the first quarter. In the waning seconds of the third quarter, Cincy wideout Andrei Iosivas completed the parlay on a 29-yard TD pass from Joe Burrow.
At hefty odds of +25894 — in easier-to-digest terms, about 259/1 — the bettor turned that 200 bucks into $51,988. Not a bad Thanksgiving Day’s worth of work.
Dog Days of … November?
By Friday evening, countless recreational bettors were probably asking themselves the question: How much would I have won if I parlayed the Thanksgiving-Black Friday NFL underdogs to win outright?
At Fanatics, at least one customer found that out.
Let me premise this by saying that wagering $500 on parlays is a good way to quickly deplete your bank account. Or perhaps “bad way” is a better way to describe it.
Throwing $10 or $20 on such plays is generally the more responsible thing to do, while keeping your expectations low.
That said, the bettor put $500 on a four-team moneyline parlay of Packers-Cowboys-Bengals-Bears.
Add up those odds, and you’ve got +8885, or about 89/1. The bettor also utilized a 10% profit boost offer, hiking the odds to +9774, just shy of 98/1.
As we all know by now, the underdogs teed it up in those four games. The Packers downed the Lions 31-24, followed by the Cowboys’ 31-28 win over the Chiefs and the Bengals’ 32-14 upset of Baltimore on Thanksgiving.
Then on Friday, the surprising Bears knocked off the Eagles 24-15.
So the bettor bagged a big profit of $48,870.80 (total payout $49,370.80). I’ll take that kind of ROI any day, though in my case, it’d be on a $10 bet.
Another Fanatics customer fashioned the same parlay but added to it an even bigger underdog and that was on the Panthers in their Sunday home game vs. the Rams. Carolina stunned Los Angeles 31-28, the biggest upset of Week 13.
With odds of +34564 (about 346/1), the customer’s 10 dollars turned into $3,466.40.
Here’s Hoping You Had It
It’s not all about making big bets or cashing out huge on a 10-leg parlay. Which, just to be clear, is rare. Always keep that firmly in mind.
Sometimes, it’s about putting 10 bucks on a single straight bet, backing a long shot or semi-long shot, and getting a solid return on investment.
At FanDuel Sportsbook, in the Packers-Lions game, Green Bay wideout Dontayvion Wicks was +1900 to score the first touchdown.
To this minute, we can all still debate whether the referees and the replay booth correctly ruled on Wicks’ TD grab early in the second quarter.
Bottom line: It was deemed a touchdown. If you put 10 bucks on that, then your wallet got $190 fatter. If you got a little friskier and bet $100, then that’s a $1,900 win.
The First Shall Be First
In the Thanksgiving Day NFL games, another FanDuel Sportsbook customer opted to throw 10 bucks on a three-leg parlay of first touchdown scorer in each contest.
As noted above, Wicks found the end zone first in the Packers-Lions tilt. Then in Chiefs-Cowboys, K.C. wideout Rashee Rice quickly converted, on a 29-yard TD reception just two minutes into the game.
In the Bengals-Ravens matchup, Cincinnati got on the board first, but with a field goal to go up 3-0. On the ensuing drive, Ravens running back Derrick Henry ran it in from 28 yards out to clinch the parlay.
At odds of +59180 — or about 592/1 — the bettor collected $5,918 in profit.
Sunday Fun Day
Big wins weren’t relegated to just the Thanksgiving and Black Friday outcomes. In Sunday’s games, a DraftKings Sportsbook customer put $10 on a six-leg parlay of anytime touchdown scorers.
Odds of nailing all six were a massive +163361, or almost 1634/1. That’s a serious long shot. But it got even longer, with the bettor utilizing a 30% profit boost, taking the odds up to about 2124/1.
As it turned out, the biggest name on that ticket, Bills QB Josh Allen, was also the biggest sweat to cashing out. But it wasn’t a down-to-the-wire sweat.
Allen scored on an 8-yard run in the first minute of the fourth quarter in Buffalo’s 26-7 win at Pittsburgh. With that TD, the bettor’s 10 bucks evolved into a massive windfall of $21,246.90.
I Like Big Bets and I Cannot Lie
Major wagers landed from Thursday through Sunday on NFL Week 13 odds and college football Week 14 odds. The largest reported bet came on a rather eye-opening team: Utah State.
A DraftKings customer put a whopping $266,000 on the Aggies +102 to beat Boise State. That bettor came achingly close to victory.
Utah State led almost the entire game but gave up a touchdown with 2:26 remaining and lost 25-24. So that bet became a sizable six-figure donation to the house.
And in a continuing college football trend this season, a bettor wagered a lot to win a little on a huge moneyline favorite. Notre Dame was -10000 vs. Stanford, meaning it would take a $10,000 bet to win a meager $100.
A Caesars Sports customer went in for $60,000 at -10000. No surprise, the Irish rolled 49-20, and the bettor collected all of $600 in profit for the trouble.
Other notable big wagers:
- $175,000 Eagles -7 vs. Bears (DraftKings). Oof. We all know how that turned out. Philly loses outright, and the house collects $175K.
- $170,000 Commanders +6.5 (-115) vs. Broncos (DraftKings). Washington lost 27-26 in overtime, but covered the 6.5-point spread. So the bettor bagged $147,826.09 profit (total payout $317,826.09).
- $115,000 Lions -2.5 vs. Packers (BetMGM). That’s a Thanksgiving Day loser.
- $115,000 Chiefs -3 vs. Cowboys (BetMGM). Another turkey on Turkey Day.
- $110,000 Ravens -7 vs. Bengals (BetMGM). Rounding out Thanksgiving with another bankroll buster.
- $108,000 Jets +3 (-108) vs. Falcons (DraftKings). New York pulled the modest upset on a final-seconds field goal in a 27-24 win. The bettor profited $100,000 (total payout $208,000).
- $108,000 Bears +7 (-108) vs. Eagles (Caesars Sports). That’s a winner, with the Bears not only covering, but winning outright 24-15. The bettor profited $100,000 (total payout $208,000).
- $100,000 Lions moneyline -142 vs. Packers (DraftKings). As noted above, Detroit lost 31-24.
As you can see, there were several contenders for the Biggest Loser. Let those outcomes serve as a reminder that high-rollers can handle big-dollar damage. You and me? Not so much. Keep your wagers and your expectations reasonable.
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 X: @PatrickE_Vegas.
Want great stories delivered right to your inbox? Create or log in to your FOX Sports account, and follow leagues, teams and players to receive a personalized newsletter daily!
