NFL Week 6 betting roundup: Titans' comeback costs bettor $110K; Bucs blowout big for sportsbooks
Backers of the Houston Texans were sitting pretty on Sunday.
Midway through the fourth quarter, the Texans, four-point underdogs at BetMGM as the road team against the undefeated Tennessee Titans, had a 30-29 lead and the ball in hand after intercepting Titans quarterback Ryan Tannehill.
Following the turnover, the Texans regained possession with 8:30 to play and Deshaun Watson led them on a 15-play, 69-yard scoring drive that took 6:40 off the clock. Watson hit Brandin Cooks for a one-yard touchdown on fourth-and-goal, extending the lead to 36-29 with 1:50 to play.
That’s when Texans interim head coach Romeo Crennel made a decision to go for two to give his team a two-possession lead — nine points instead of eight with an extra point. The two-point try failed, leaving the door open for the Titans.
Tannehill would atone for his mistake. On the ensuing drive, Tannehill completed eight of his nine pass attempts and found A.J. Brown in the end zone for the game-tying touchdown with just four seconds left. And instead of needing a two-point conversion like they would have if Crennel sent his kicker out, the Titans sent the game to overtime with a Stephen Gostkowski extra point.
All of a sudden, Texans bettors were in a tough spot. Things soon got worse.
The Titans won the coin toss and marched right down the field with Derrick Henry, who won the game with a five-yard touchdown run. Final score: Titans 42, Texans 36.
That was a brutal turn of events, especially for one Texans bettor at BetMGM who wagered $110K on the Texans to cover the four-point spread. Instead of a $100,000 win, that bettor walked away empty-handed.
Bucs blowout big for the book
The most bet NFL game of the weekend at BetMGM was the showdown between the Green Bay Packers and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers entered Sunday’s game with a 4-0 record while Tom Brady and the Bucs were 3-2 and on the heels of a Thursday night loss to the Chicago Bears. The public was all over the Packers as road favorites, causing the line to move from -1 to -2. There was heavy action on the over, too, as the total rose from 51.5 to 54.5 before kickoff.
MGM needed Brady and the Bucs to come through and they did in a big way: a 38-10 blowout.
It was one of the biggest winners of the year for the sportsbook.
“A really big game for us was the Bucs beating the Packers in the late game. That was a huge game, not only for the straight bets but for parlays and teasers. That game rivaled the Chiefs losing last week as probably one of our biggest games of the year. It was that big,” Jeff Stoneback, director of trading for MGM Resorts, told Yahoo Sports.
Big day for underdogs, big day for sportsbooks
With underdogs covering the spread in eight of the 12 NFL games, including five outright wins, Sunday was a very profitable day for MGM.
“We had our best day of the season. The bettors took it on the chin. It was a tough day for the bettors,” Stoneback said.
While the Bucs-Packers game took the top spot, the Denver Broncos beating the New England Patriots as seven-point underdogs was another big one for the book. Stoneback said one bettor bought a half-point and bet $275K on the Patriots at -6.5 — a wager that would have yielded a $200K return. Another bettor had $100K on the Patriots moneyline at -340 in another win for MGM.
The biggest line movement of the week came in the Baltimore Ravens vs. Philadelphia Eagles game. The Ravens opened at -7.5, but moved all the way to -10 at close. Ravens backers were in a really good spot almost all game. They led 17-0 at halftime, 24-6 after three quarters and 30-14 with 7:12 to play.
But Carson Wentz led a depleted Eagles team on a wild comeback, scoring two touchdowns in less than a two-minute span. The first touchdown, plus a successful two-point conversion, cut Baltimore’s lead to 30-22 with 3:48 remaining. The defense then quickly forced a punt to put the ball back in Wentz’s hands. He led the offense right down the field for a score, but the game-tying two-point conversion attempt was stuffed and the Ravens held on for a 30-28 win.
The damage for Ravens’ bettors was already done, though.
“It was a tough day for the bettors and a good day for the book. It’s just the way it fell this week,” Stoneback said.
First winning week for the under
For the first time in the 2020 NFL season, there will be more games that go under the total than over.
Ahead of the two Monday Night Football games, eight of the 12 NFL games played so far in Week 6 went under the total. That means a winning week for the under is guaranteed. Last week was close. Ahead of the Monday and Tuesday night games, the under was 7-5, but both of those games went over the total to make it an even 7-7 week.
Here is the breakdown through six weeks with the obvious caveat that two more games remain in Week 6:
Week 1: 8-8
Week 2: 11-5
Week 3: 10-6
Week 4: 9-6
Week 5: 7-7
Week 6: 4-8
Overall, the over is 49-40. That’s 55 percent, down from 58.4 percent after Week 5.
Sunday’s big bet winners at MGM
$100K to win $60,606.05 on Steelers (-165) moneyline vs. Browns; Steelers won 38-7.
$110K to win $100K on Steelers (-3) vs. Browns; Steelers won 38-7.
$120K to win $85K on Titans (-3) vs. Texans; Titans won 42-36.
$115K to win $100K on Ravens (-6.5) first half vs. Eagles; Ravens led 17-0 at halftime.
$105K to win $100K on Texans -3 (-105) second half vs. Titans; Texans outscored Titans 26-15 in second half.
$115K to win $100K on Colts (-6) second half vs. Bengals; Colts outscored Bengals 10-3 in second half.
$110K to win $100K on 49ers (+2.5) vs. Rams; 49ers won 24-16.
More from Yahoo Sports:
