NFL Week 13 odds are put to bed, but the Monday morning quarterbacking never sleeps. So we at FOX Sports will offer some Tuesday morning quarterbacking for the sports betting crowd.
Week after week, the public betting masses enjoy wagering on parlays. And we get it. Betting a little to win a lot is appealing, like the lottery, or in this instance, perhaps a mini-lottery.
However, in risk rooms across this great nation, the following mantra is a constant: Parlays are a bookmaker’s best friend. That’s how sportsbooks really make their money.
That being said, what if I told you that betting $10 on: a two-time league leader in receiving touchdowns to score first, the fourth pick of the 2024 NFL Draft to score first, a team on a six-game win streak to cover a 6.5-point spread at home, a team on a seven-game winning streak to win straight up, and a game involving Joe Burrow and Russell Wilson to exceed 46 points would profit you more than $11,000.
In Week 13, it would have. With that in mind, here’s this week’s edition of …
Woulda Coulda Shoulda
How awesome would it be to turn ten bucks into more than ten thousand dollars? If you leaned into a couple of wide receivers on player props, and added in a trio of popular teams/popular games in Week 13 NFL odds, you could’ve done just that.
The following is a hypothetical five-leg parlay compiled at DraftKings Sportsbook:
- Davante Adams +900 to score the first touchdown in the Jets–Seahawks game
- Marvin Harrison Jr. +1200 to score the first touchdown in the Cardinals–Vikings game
- Bills -6.5 (-110) vs. 49ers
- Eagles moneyline +136 vs. Ravens
- Steelers–Bengals Over 46 points
Adams found the end zone for the Jets late in the first quarter, for that matchup’s first touchdown.
But the Cards-Vikes game was a much longer wait. Arizona and Minnesota exchanged field goals throughout the first half, with Arizona taking a 9-6 lead on a final-seconds kick to end the half.
Midway through the third quarter, yet another field goal put Arizona up 12-6. Then finally, with 4:36 left in the third, Harrison broke through on a 15-yard pass from Kyler Murray for the game’s first touchdown.
Bills-49ers was almost never in doubt Sunday night in the snow. Buffalo led 21-7 at half en route to a 35-10 victory, easily covering as a 6.5-point home favorite.
Philadelphia went to Baltimore as a three-point underdog and overcame an early 9-0 deficit to post a 24-19 outright victory.
The most no-sweat piece of this hypothetical parlay was the Steelers-Bengals total. Over 46 hit in the first half, with Pittsburgh taking a 27-21 lead into the locker room.
Add it all up, and you’ve got massive odds of +111717, or just about 1117/1. So that 10-dollar bill turns into a healthy profit of $11,171.14.
It can’t be overstated that there’s a reason odds are so long on these types of bets. And bookmakers want nothing more than for you to add more and more legs to your parlay tickets.
So wager accordingly. If you’re just taking a weekly flier with 10 or 20 bucks, then that’s all well and good. If you’re hoping to pay for Christmas gifts with your long-shot parlays, well, that’s not good. Keep it sensible!
Patrick Everson is a sports betting analyst for FOX Sports and senior reporter for VegasInsider.com. He is a distinguished journalist in the national sports betting space. He’s based in Las Vegas, where he enjoys golfing in 110-degree heat. Follow him on Twitter: @PatrickE_Vegas.
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