NFL Week 12 Big Bets Recap: Bettor loses $1 million after Rams fail to cover

Patrick Everson

FOX Sports Betting Analyst

Each week of the NFL season, it’s certainly interesting and entertaining to recount big parlay wins. Turning a little into a lot is cause for celebration.

But when someone puts up a million dollars of their own cash, that has to take precedence over a $20 parlay.

The NFL Week 12 odds market saw a seven-figure play, for the Sunday night showdown between the Philadelphia Eagles and Los Angeles Rams.

More on that massive bet, notable parlays, unique wins and other major wagers — winners and losers alike — as we recap NFL Week 12 and college football Week 13 betting.

To Live And Die With L.A.

Shortly before the Eagles-Rams game kicked off, Caesars Sports noted that it took a $1 million bet on Los Angeles +3 (-120).

The customer just needed the short home underdog Rams to keep things close against the Eagles. As long as the Rams lost by fewer than 3, or better yet just won the game, the bettor would profit a hefty $833,333.33, for a total payout of $1,833,333.33.

Unfortunately, Saquon Barkley had other ideas. The Eagles’ running back went off for 255 rushing yards, including touchdown runs of 70 and 72 yards, and Philly posted a 37-20 road victory.

So the million-dollar bet was merely a large donation to the house.

Parlay Partay

Now then, back to our originally scheduled program of checking in on who turned a little into a lot in Week 12 NFL odds. At the top of the board this week: a $3, five-leg anytime touchdown parlay at FanDuel Sportsbook:

Add it all up, and you have odds of +186524. Or in easier-to-digest form, a little more than 1865/1.

All five players found the end zone, so the bettor turned a profit of $5,595.72. That is tremendous ROI on a $3 bet.

Thanks to mobile apps and in-game wagering, betting opportunities are practically limitless. A FanDuel customer proved that with a two-leg parlay of specific players — Seahawks wideout Jaxon Smith-Njigba and 49ers tight end George Kittle — scoring touchdowns on specific drives.

Smith-Njigba and Kittle got the job done, allowing the bettor to profit $5,080 on a $20 wager.

Similarly, a FanDuel bettor put $50 on Saquon Barkley to score a TD on the Eagles’ ninth drive against the Rams, at odds of +13000 (130/1).

Barkley ripped off a 72-yard TD run, and the bettor made off with $6,500 in profit.

At DraftKings Sportsbook, a customer put together a five-leg parlay that rivaled the aforementioned $3 bet at FanDuel. All five legs on the $8 wager were in the Steelers–Browns Thursday night game in the snow:

The odds would normally have been +150000 (1500/1), but the bettor used a 33% boost promotion to up those odds to +199500 (1995/1). Cleveland QB Jameis Winston and running back Nick Chubb each had TDs, as did Pittsburgh wideout Calvin Austin III and running back Jaylen Warren.

The biggest sweat to the bet: Cleveland moneyline, meaning the Browns had to win the game outright. Which they did on Chubb’s second TD of the game, in the final minute, giving the Browns a 24-19 victory.

And giving the bettor a profit of $15,960.

Here’s Hoping You Had It

It’s not all about cashing out wild parlays for tens of thousands of dollars. When you multiply any wager by 17, or better still by 28, that’s gonna nicely fatten the wallet.

And if you rode Kansas City Chiefs tight end Noah Gray again this week, then you might have done well. In Week 11, Gray was +8000 to score two or more touchdowns vs. the Buffalo Bills, and he got there.

In Week 12 at Caesars Sports, Gray was +1700 to score the first TD in the Chiefs-Panthers game. He did just that, not even 90 seconds into the first quarter, scoring on a 35-yard pass from Patrick Mahomes.

If you put 10 bucks on that, you made $170.

And if you decided to play Gray for two or more TDs again, that was +2800 at Caesars. He took care of that just before halftime, on an 11-yard scoring pass from Mahomes.

So another tenner on that would’ve profited $280.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, Houston Texans tight end Cade Stover was a healthy +4500 to score the first touchdown of the game against the Tennessee Titans. That happened quite quickly.

Houston’s Dameon Pierce returned the opening kickoff 80 yards to the Tennessee 19-yard line. On the first play from scrimmage, C.J. Stroud connected with Stover on a 19-yard TD pass.

A $10 bet on Stover would’ve taken just 18 seconds to become $450.

Will Levis, Tennessee Titans SHOCK C.J. Stroud, Houston Texans

I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

Along with the aforementioned million-dollar play, Caesars Sports took a host of five- and six-figure bets over the weekend, on NFL Week 12 odds and college football Week 13 odds.

Among the more notable major wagers:

$210,000 Cardinals pick ‘em vs. Seahawks. The Cardinals lost 16-6, so that’s another big donation to the house.
$110,000 Commanders -10 vs. Cowboys. Another loser, as Washington tumbles 34-26.
$84,000 Cowboys +11 (-105) vs. Commanders. And we’ve got a winner, thanks to the Cowboys’ upset. Bettor profits $80,000 (total payout $164,000).
$52,500 Steelers-Browns Under 37.5 (-105). A 27-point fourth quarter ruins it for this bettor, in the Browns’ 24-19 victory.
$55,000 Steelers-Browns Over 36.5. This customer got there on that big fourth quarter, to profit $50,000 (total payout $105,000).
$66,000 Ohio State -10.5 vs. Indiana. Ohio State rolls 38-15, so the bettor profits $60,000 (total payout $126,000).
$69,000 Ole Miss -11.5 vs. Florida. The bet loses, as the Rebels suffer a 24-17 upset.
$55,000 Oklahoma State +3.5 vs. Texas Tech. The Cowboys fail to cover in a 56-48 loss.

And finally, a bettor who seemingly saw into the future for the Chiefs-Panthers game Sunday. Kansas City was an 11-point road favorite against Carolina.

For whatever reason, a Caesars customer in Illinois decided to wager $20,000 on an alternate point spread: Chiefs -2 (-583). So, instead of K.C. needing to win by more than 12, it only needed to win by more than 2.

That became very important when Carolina rallied from a 27-16 fourth-quarter deficit to tie the game at 27 with 1:46 remaining. The Chiefs then went down the field and won 30-27 on a field goal as time expired.

So the bettor pocketed a relatively modest win of $3,430.53 (total payout $23,430.53). If only we all could have that kind of foresight, let alone that kind of money to drop on an NFL bet.

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.

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