Sportsbooks Dominate NFL Betting Weekend

The NFL weekend featured barking dogs and plenty of groans from sports bettors. Underdogs covered 11 of 14 games in Week 10, including six outright wins. The Carolina Panthers, New England Patriots, New Orleans Saints, Pittsburgh Steelers, Arizona Cardinals and Miami Dolphins all beat the odds and won their games.

“The Giants losing outright was a good start for us at the beginning of (Sunday),” DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello told Only Players, referencing Carolina's 20-17 win over New York in Munich, Germany with a 9:30am ET kickoff. “The Falcons losing was good for us and the Bucs covering was also good.”

Sunday Night Football, given its national platform and being the sole NFL game in that time slot, often plays a huge role in determining the house's bottom line. The Detroit Lions had won and covered six straight games prior to facing the Houston Texans. While they won again, they did not cover the 3.5-point spread.

"Lions-Texans was the most bet regular season game in BetMGM history. Texans covering was great (for the house)," BetMGM Public Relations manager John Ewing told Only Players.

In terms of the betting nature, the public typically wagers on favorites. So any time a favorite fails to cover the spread, or better yet they lose outright, the books often cash in. This season has seen a mix of both the public and sportsbooks being advantageous.

September was a historically successful month for gaming operators, according to sources. Through the season's first three weeks, underdogs of at least 5.5 points went 13-2 against the spread. They actually won nine of those 15 games outright.

However, fast forward to Week 8 and the public exacted some revenge. Favorites went 11-2-1 against the point spread and it evolved into one of the worst NFL weekends in sportsbook history.

Each and every week, nobody knows who is going to win each game. But one thing we do know is that when the favorites cover, the public often wins.

“This was a typical day and this is how games go normally. The favorites have to win the game and cover. But the underdogs get two shots to cash. They can cover the spread or win the game outright. That’s always been the advantage of playing the ‘dog," Avello said.