In the last weekend of the NFL season, a bet in Las Vegas went viral after a kicker made a game-winning field goal. The odds for this bet were so low that it was considered a long shot.
The how many kickers have been drafted is a bet that has been popular for years. It’s not the most popular bet, but it does have its followers.
It was one of the most popular wagers at a number of bookmakers. Yes, we’re discussing the Baltimore Ravens’ straight-up money-line odds to defeat the Detroit Lions.
At PointsBet, the Ravens’ moneyline (they were about -400 favorites) was used in more parlays than any other NFL team. There were 22 money-line bets on Baltimore for every money-line bet on the underdog Lions at BetRivers sportsbooks. By the time the game began, the Ravens had received 98 percent of the money-line bets.
When the longest field goal in NFL history hit the crossbar and caromed through as time expired, all of those wagers were on the line.
In a 19-17 win, Justin Tucker’s 66-yard field goal completed a last-minute Ravens drive that revived the dreams of gamblers who had placed the high money-line price on Baltimore and believed their bets were cooked.
“Justin Tucker is the bettor’s best buddy,” said Jay Croucher, PointsBet’s head of trading. “Tucker’s kick was the game-changer of the day, rescuing everyone’s money-line parlays.”
With the Ravens failing to cover the 7.5-point spread, most bookies profited from the game, while some bookmakers lost money. According to sportsbook COO Mattias Stetz, Baltimore’s two-point victory, rather than losing outright to the Lions, resulted in a “mid-six-figure swing” against the house at BetRivers.
The Ravens were a popular pick on teasers, a kind of parlay that enables gamblers to alter the spread by six points, according to Tom Gable, sportsbook director at The Borgata in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
“The Ravens were one of the most popular teaser picks of the week, and you could tell when the field goal was scored by the response in the book,” Gable added.
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With 30 seconds left in the game, the Ravens were down 17-16 and faced a fourth-and-19 from their own 16-yard line. Baltimore had a 0.1 percent probability of winning at the time, according to ESPN Stats & Information. However, Lamar Jackson connected with Sammy Watkins for a 36-yard pass and a first down, and the Ravens seemed to receive a break when the play clock appeared to have expired with three seconds left.
Tucker subsequently took the field and scored the NFL’s longest field goal to win the game and maintain the Ravens atop the AFC North standings.
“Had Tucker missed, the Ravens’ division odds would have fallen to +200,” Croucher added. “Instead, they’re suddenly a small favorite over Cleveland at +110.”
Bets on the NFL that are worth noting
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On Sunday, the public got off to a fast start by betting heavily on the Cardinals, Bills, and Browns in the early games. Bettors were rewarded with winners who didn’t have to worry about anything.
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The Cardinals, who came from behind to beat the Jaguars 31-19 and cover the 8-point spread, drew the most lopsided action of any club in the early slate. At several sportsbooks, Arizona received over 90% of the bets and money staked. DraftKings sportsbook director Johnny Avello remarked, “That was arguably our worst game.”
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“The Chargers were the only game of significance that went against the public [in the early games],” BetRivers sportsbook manager Zach Schlouch said.
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“After the morning games, I was really content with a minor defeat since we had lost all three of our major choices. We were 0-3 at the time “On Sunday afternoon, MGM race and sportsbook director Jeff Stoneback told ESPN.
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The Dolphins’ comeback to cover the 3.5-point spread in a 31-28 overtime defeat to the Raiders was a huge victory for bookies, particularly in Las Vegas. “Miami coverage helped us a lot,” said John Murray, executive director of the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.
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The Raiders’ first-round victory against the Ravens in Las Vegas on Monday night was the largest loss for MGM books in Nevada that Stoneback, a 20-plus-year veteran, can remember. The Raiders’ game against the Dolphins on Sunday seemed to be headed in the same direction. There were seven times as many bets on the Raiders as there were on the Dolphins, and more than three times as much money was wagered on the Raiders.
“As long as [the Raiders] are winning and at home, we’re going to run against it every week,” Stoneback said. “Last year, they didn’t seem to be the home team yet. Nobody could come to the games before, but now everyone is, and it doesn’t hurt that they’re 3-0 to begin with.”
The series, hosted by Mike Greenberg, utilizes in-depth interviews and theatrical recreations to revisit the craziest, saddest, and funniest betting stories, as well as their unintended consequences. On ESPN+, you may watch all 12 episodes.
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Deck Prism, a Las Vegas-based business that supplies sportsbooks with live updated odds during games, revealed what its prediction model thought of the Chargers’ late-game choices in Sunday’s 30-24 victory against the Chiefs. With 48 seconds remaining in the game, the Chargers faced a fourth-and-4 and decided to go for it rather than try a field goal with their failing kicker in windy circumstances.
Given an average kicker in normal weather circumstances, Deck Prism’s model indicated that this was the incorrect choice. Under normal conditions, the Chargers had a 24 percent chance of winning if they went for it, vs a 26.5 percent chance of winning if they tried the field goal. At Arrowhead Stadium, though, the wind was howling. The Chargers’ inability to trust their kicker lost them the game. Then, before their fourth-down try, they were flagged for a false start.
“We made going for it 18.5 percent to win and kicking at 24.5 percent after the botched start,” Deck Prism co-founder Ed Miller told ESPN. “Not having a kicker at that position was a tremendous pain.”
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The Chargers got the first down, scored a touchdown, and then held off the Chiefs on the next drive to preserve their 30-24 victory. In addition, the Chargers-Chiefs game’s total closed at 54.5. After the go-ahead touchdown, Chargers kicker Tristan Vizcaino missed the extra point for the second time in the game, keeping the score a half point under the total. The Chiefs, who were 7-point favorites, have gone 2-12 ATS in their previous 14 games going back to last season.
Notables in college football
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As a 30.5-point underdog, Bowling Green defeated Minnesota 14-10. It’s the biggest upset since Illinois won as a 30.5-point underdog over Wisconsin in 2019.
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At 2 p.m. PT on Sunday, Circa Sports in Las Vegas started Alabama as a 20-point favorite against Ole Miss. In the first few hours after the game was announced, there were more than ten limit bets on the Rebels, but no limit bets on Alabama. The line has fallen to Crimson Tide -14.5 at 6 p.m. PT.
Other noteworthy college football opening lines from Circa Sports include:
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Penn State vs. Indiana (-9, 54.5)
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Rutgers vs. Ohio State (-17, 59.5).
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Notre Dame (-2, 47.5) vs. Cincinnati (-2, 47.5)
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Stanford vs. Oregon (-8, 57.5).
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Alabama vs. Ole Miss (-20, 77.5)
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Oklahoma State hosts Baylor (-5, 51.5)
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Georgia vs. Arkansas (-18, 50.5)
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Kansas State (-12, 54.5) at Oklahoma
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LSU takes on Auburn (-4, 55.5)
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Wisconsin vs. Michigan (-1, 43.5)
What were the chances of it happening?
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50,000-1: The real odds of a $25 16-leg parlay including every Week 2 NFL game that a bettor almost struck last week in Michigan, according to ESPN’s Football Power Index. The gambler accurately predicted the winners of the previous 15 games, according to BetMGM, and needed the Lions to beat the highly favored Packers in order to earn $726,959. The wager was made as part of a free promotion and was not originally eligible for any kind of early cash-out. However, a BetMGM spokesman claimed that its traders contacted with the bettor before to the Monday night game, and that the bettor was eventually able to cash out for $133,000 pre-tax.
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At the SuperBook, Team USA’s chances of winning the Ryder Cup are -5,000. The Americans won by a score of 19-9. At the SuperBook, the Ryder Cup drew almost a quarter of the money bet on a major event.
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Before the news that Ben Simmons is refusing to return to the club, the Philadelphia 76ers’ chances to win the Atlantic Division were +325 to win. The 76ers’ division odds were increased to +400, while the point spread for Philadelphia’s season opening was changed from -1.5 to pick’em.
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Oleksandr Usyk has a +210 chance of defeating Anthony Joshua and winning the WBA/WBO/IBF heavyweight belts on Saturday.
The justin tucker salary is a bet that many people have been placing. Tucker’s kick saves one of the most popular weekend bets.
Related Tags
- ravens kickers
- justin tucker
- ravens kicker history
- highest drafted kicker
