Sportsbooks have been on the plus side of the ledger in nine of the 11 weeks of the season, including Week 11, which saw the books post winning numbers on the Buffalo Bills, the Pittsburgh Steelers, the Miami Dolphins, the San Francisco 49ers, and yes, the Denver Broncos.
The last game, a night-time affair between the Broncos and the Kansas City Chiefs saw the public buck its own trend of rolling with a live underdog. The Chiefs undefeated record heading into the game definitely played a part in the public siding with KC, as did the rather palatable 8-point spread it had on its side. That move ultimately backfired on the public with Denver rolling to a 27-17 win at home, proving once and all that it’s the team-to-beat this year, Kansas’ equal 9-1 record notwithstanding.
The Steelers – Lions game also was a big win for the sportsbooks and serving another example of the public bucking their own trend of picking public teams in favor of this season’s performance. The Lions’ winning record, coupled with the struggles of Pittsburgh meant that more people were riding with Detroit in this game. Wrong choice, it ended up being, and made even harder to digest with the way the Lions’ overaggressive ways ultimately cost them the game in the end.
The betting public did have some winning games, including the Seahawks’ covering the 13.5-point spread against the Vikings, the Cardinals doing the same against the Vikings with a 9.5-point spread, and the Philadelphia Eagles winning against the Washington Redskins by more than 4.5 points. But ultimately, those games didn’t do too much damage to the books’ bottom line.
In the end, it was another profitable week for the house, running its winning form for the entire season to nine weeks out of 11. With six weeks left in the NFL season, it certainly appears that the betting public won’t have the same success it had against the house the way it did last season.
Not that Vegas is complaining.
