The Washington Football team shocked the world on Monday. They might even have shocked the bettors brave enough to get them on the money line.
The Pittsburgh Steelers were 11-0 before Monday night. They were leading 14-0. Even when Washington scored a field goal at the end of the first half – perhaps because Alex Smith stole the ball off the field – the soccer team was an overwhelming underdog to win. They were +240 on the money line before kick-off and that further increased the odds in the game.
Washington did it. They tied it in the fourth quarter, Pittsburgh passed a field goal attempt and never moved down to fourth after that, and WFT scored a field goal to take a late lead. After that, another field gate was added to push away the victory. That result was especially troubling to a better one who bet $ 250,000 on a 6.5 point point to win $ 178,571 – that bettor had Steelers on a pick’em and Bills +7.5. The bills easily covered half of this teaser.
Washington wasn’t the biggest surprise of the season, however. That wasn’t even the biggest surprise of week 13.
Washington opened as an underdog with 8.5 points and that line rose to +6 by the whistle at BetMGM. Approximately 75 percent of the bets were on Pittsburgh, but sharp action has moved the line down. These weather were very happy.
But the biggest surprise of the week was the New York Giants. You won as a 10.5-point underdog at the Seattle Seahawks. That was the biggest surprise of the season. The Las Vegas Raiders 40:32 win over the Kansas City Chiefs was also an underdog with 10.5 points.
The Giants won despite Colt McCoy replacing Daniel Jones at the quarterback. Their defense did a fantastic job against Russell Wilson and Seattle. The Giants are -155 to win the division at BetMGM. Washington is +165. The Giants have the inner lane because they won the head-to-head tiebreaker from a season sweep over WFT. At least the division race is a little more interesting after week 13.
The story goes on
This has been the underdog’s year in the NFL betting world, but not many great underdogs have won straight away. Washington and New York have seen the notable problems of week 13. That will help give the NFC East a little more respect.
Washington Football Team’s Chase Young celebrates after beating the Pittsburgh Steelers 23:17. (Photo by Justin K. Aller / Getty Images)
Here are the winners and losers in the sports betting world of the past week:
WINNER
Baylor Basketball: Gonzaga could be the favorite to win the college basketball title this season. BetMGM’s odds of winning reflect this. The Bulldogs have the lowest odds at +650.
Baylor is barely a second. The Bears scored an impressive 82-69 win over Illinois No. 5 last week. We were robbed of a Baylor Gonzaga game last Saturday that was canceled due to COVID-19 issues. 2020 is still terrible.
Baylor’s odds of winning are +800, along with Villanova for the second best odds behind Gonzaga. Hopefully we’ll get the Baylor Gonzaga game later this season. Maybe in the NCAA tournament.
Alabama soccer: Alabama closed as a 29-point favorite against LSU. It was the biggest point a defending champion has reached in 40 years. The line was up to 30 in some places.
And Alabama covered. They won 55-17.
Odds makers can’t put the lines high enough in Alabama. Despite their dominance, the Crimson Tide stand 5-2 against the spread and often cover large numbers. Alabama is a 31-point favorite over Arkansas this week. It seems crazy to fade them.
Alabama is even money to win the championship. Clemson is very good, but the Tigers are +250. It’s just hard to see anyone but Alabama winning everything. You roll.
LOSER
People Who Make the Jets Fade: Bettors loved the Las Vegas Raiders on Sunday. They made a little more than a touchdown against the New York Jets. The Raiders were one of the top five teams of week 13 for most bets.
Nobody seemed to believe in the jets they were covering at all.
What’s the worst bet this morning?
– Yahoo Sportsbook (@YahooSportsbook) December 6, 2020
As we know, the Jets almost won. They gave up a touchdown in the final seconds for a heartbreaking loss, but that didn’t affect anyone who had the points.
As my colleague Sam Cooper pointed out, the Jets played four out of six games even though they didn’t win any. They are preferred to go 0-16 at BetMGM but the lines are so inflated against them that they offer bettors some value brave enough to take them.
The end of Tennessee-Florida: It is always difficult to lose a bet on a game that had no bearing on the bottom line. It’s even worse when it’s fourth at the end of a blowout.
Florida was -17.5 against Tennessee, covering the spread. You forced fourth and tenth places at the last minute. Then … ouch.
That’s a bad way to lose a bet.
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