Week 4 wagering by the numbers: Darnold seeing MVP interest

Doug Greenberg David Purdum Close David Purdum ESPN Staff Writer Joined ESPN in 2014 Reporter covering betting industry considering that 2008 Sep 30, 2024,

• 10:00 AM ET To say that
• nobody saw the Minnesota Vikings turning into one of the NFL’s best groups through four weeks would be an understatement, as they had the seventh-longest odds to win the Super Bowl (100-1 )at ESPN BET. Going into the season, just 1.1 %of Super Bowl bets positioned with BetMGM were on the Vikings.One month later on, after Sunday’s win over the Green Bay Packers at Lambeau Field, the Vikings are the last remaining undefeated NFL group versus the spread– which is not remarkable in itself given that the Atlanta Falcons published a 4-0 ATS record to start the season as recently as 2022. However what is outstanding is the truth that Minnesota is the first string in the Super Bowl Era to start 4-0 straight-out despite not being more than a one-point favorite in any of their very first 4 games. Minnesota started the season as one-point favorites versus the New york city Giants, and after that getting underdog status versus the San Francisco 49ers, Houston Texans and, in Week 4, the Packers.Editor’s Picks 2 Related While the sportsbooks weren’t purchasing into the Vikes’hot start today, gamblers were. At numerous sportsbooks, Minnesota received most of bets and handle to

  cover +3 versus Green Bay, in addition to a large percentage of moneyline bets(+125 at ESPN BET ). BetMGM states that Vikings +3 was their most-bet spread( by handle) and Vikings +130 was their most-bet underdog to win(by tickets). FanDuel made some cash back by taking heavy action on Aaron Jones to score a touchdown in his return to Lambeau, stating that the previous Packers running back attracted almost four times as lots of wagers to enter into the end zone as any other player Sunday afternoon. Jones racked up 93 backyards on the ground but did not score.And while Jones has actually been necessary to Minnesota’s success, no player has actually done more for the Vikings than QB Sam Darnold, who continues to produce MVP buzz with his resurgent play. At ESPN BET, he wasn’t on the board before the season. He debuted at 100-1, and has considering that moved all the method down to +1400 to win the award, just behind leaders Josh Allen( +200 ), Patrick Mahomes (+350)and C.J. Stroud(+900). However for all the disrespect the Vikings and Darnold saw early in the season, fans are beginning to believe. Given that Sunday morning, DraftKings reports that Darnold has 50%of the bets and 47 %of the manage to win MVP.At least one gambler believed the quarterback could turn his profession around in Minneapolis even before his revival: In July, one FanDuel customer put a$250 wager at 300-1 odds on Darnold to win MVP for potential earnings of$75,000. Underdogs bark once again, bettors catching on NFL underdogs, especially the larger ones, dominated the first month of the season.Underdogs of seven points or more are 5-2 outright and are 6-1 versus the spread.Teams getting at least five points are 11-11 directly and 18-4 versus the spread.Overall, underdogs are 36-26 ATS with 25 straight-out upsets (before Monday’s games).

  The underdogs’success took a toll on

  the betting public in the first three weeks, however there was a bit of a shift in the technique of wagerers in Week 4. Underdogs went 9-4 versus the spread on Sunday, with the Vikings

• , Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Denver Broncos, Washington Commanders, Indianapolis Colts and Las Vegas Raiders all pulling outright upsets. Generally, that’s a recipe for disaster for the wagering public

, which usually gravitates towards favorites. However reports from sportsbooks ahead of Sunday night’s game informed a various story.Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, described the day as a”little win”for your house ahead of the prime-time game in between the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens.The Cincinnati Bengals ’34-24 win over the Carolina Panthers was the best game for the wagering public, bookies stated. At ESPN BET, almost 85%of money bet was on Cincinnati to cover the 5.5-point spread, making it the most uneven game of the early slate.

On Sunday morning, more money had been banked on the Bengals to cover the spread and win the game outright than any other team at DraftKings.” This week in the NFL was disappointing,”John Murray, executive director for

the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, stated.”We had a truly good September, however closed with a whimper. “Arise from Week 4 and for the season, per ESPN Research study Today This Season Underdogs 10-4 ATS(6-8 SU)36-26 ATS(25-37 SU )Home teams 8-6 ATS/SU 29-33 ATS(32-30 SU)Overs 8-6 28-34 Unpleasant props The progressively popular player props did not leave to a great start to the week for the betting public and that pattern continued into Sunday’s early games.On Thursday, the over on getting lawns for Giants running back Devin Singletary was the most-popular player prop at multiple sportsbooks. Singletary’s over/under on receiving yards was set around 14.5. FanDuel reported that 99%of bets and 97%

at multiple sportsbooks to score goals were the Breece Hall of the New York City Jets and Saquon Barkley of the Philadelphia Eagles. Hall finished with 18 overall backyards and no goals in

the Jets ’10-9 loss to the Broncos. Barkley had 116 overall backyards without any touchdowns in the Eagles’33-16 loss to the Buccaneers.Georgia-Alabama: $80,000 to win $1,600 and other wildness Jalen Milroe jumped from +700 to +225 at ESPN BET after an amazing performance in an upset Week 5 success over Georgia. Picture by Todd Kirkland/Getty Images On a Saturday filled with

giant wagering choices for the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, the most unexpected one can be found in the first half of the greatest game of the college football season so far.For a brief minute, the supervisors in charge of the remote controls for the SuperBook’s giant videoboards decided to take the Georgia-Alabama game off the main screen with the sound, deciding instead for Illinois-Penn State.”[ They]

quickly understood the error in the methods,”joked JohnMurray, executive director of the SuperBook. “What a game.” By now, everybody reading most likely knows what occurred Saturday in Tuscaloosa, where the Alabama Crimson Tide were home

underdogs for the very first time in 17 years. It was a wild affair that saw the Georgia Bulldogs conquer a 28-0 deficit to take the lead in the final three minutes, only to have Alabama score the winning touchdown just 13 seconds later on. In those 13 seconds, the Crimson Tide’s odds to win the game went from +135 to -550 at ESPN BET.Alabama, which led 30-7 at halftime and 33-15 early in the 4th quarter, was a commanding -6,000 preferred to

win the game at one point at Caesars Sportsbook, with Georgia a 22-1 underdog to win the game. The biggest in-game bet Caesars reported taking was a real sweat: running the risk of $80,000 on Alabama to win the game at -5,000 odds for a possibility to win$1,600.”We feel for the consumer’s heart rate,” Mucklow informed ESPN.”It’s easily the most significant college game for in-play handle this year. As with all substantial returns and insane late swings, it was a remarkable result for numerous in-play consumers.”The late chances swings began even before the game. Simply 90 minutes before kickoff, the point spread moved from Georgia -1 to -2.5 at numerous sportsbooks. Murray of the SuperBook stated late action on the Bulldogs from “sharp accounts” triggered the line movement.The game likewise vaulted Crimson Tide QB Jalen Milroe into the function of Heisman preferred and Alabama ahead of Georgia in the championship game chances. Milroe, who opened the season at +1400, started Saturday at +700 and moved to favorite status at +225 by Sunday early morning, per ESPN BET odds. Because Saturday morning, Milroe has drawn in 17 %of bets and 22%of deal with at the sportsbook, both 2nd best behind Colorado’s Travis Hunter, who now ranks third on the odds board at +700. ESPN BET odds to win the Championship game, as of Sept. 29 School Chances Ohio State +350 Alabama +375 Texas +500 Georgia +650 Oregon +1100 Tennessee +1100 Miami(FL )+1800 Ole Miss +2000 Penn State +2000 Chances and Ends 65: The portion of bets that were parlays at FanDuel this year, according to the company’s profits report released last week.63: The variety of lawns of New England Patriots’kicker Joey Slye’s

field goal right before halftime in their game versus the 49ers. It was a career-long for Slye and secured the first-half over at 20.5.186.5: The over/under on Broncos ‘quarterback Bo Nix’s passing lawns against the Jets at DraftKings. Nix completed with 60 yards passing. Nix’s 60 backyards passing is the lowest overall by a quarterback with a minimum of 20 attempts in a win because Eli Manning in 2007, according to ESPN Research study.