Gamblers know their bets are always alive until the end, but two Week 6 games truly epitomized the mantra that it’s never over until it’s over. Cincinnati and Green Bay each had double-digit leads over their opponents, Indianapolis and Tampa Bay, only to lose after two impressive comebacks.
The first was the Bengals, who were +280 on the moneyline before the game, and a 7.5-point underdog. William Hill reported 53% of the money was on Cincinnati.
The Bengals took a 21-0 lead over the Colts with 12:18 remaining in the second quarter, and the live odds shifted. Cincinnati was -430 and 13.5-point favorite, while Indianapolis was getting +320.
Then the Colts mounted a comeback. They got the score to 24-21 at halftime, and took their first lead of the game just after the start of the fourth quarter on a 14-yard touchdown pass from Philip Rivers to Jack Doyle, making the score 28-27. They added a 40-yard field goal with 4:03 remaining to seal the victory.
We found a way. #ForTheShoe pic.twitter.com/aBUGv0qEyb
— Indianapolis Colts (@Colts) October 18, 2020
While the losses weren’t terrible for bettors in the Indianapolis-Cincinnati game, they were disastrous for those wagering on the Green Bay-Tampa Bay game. The public hammered the Packers with 92% of the money on Green Bay, along with 83% of the tickets.
The Packers were up 10-0 in the first quarter, keeping alive their streak of being the NFL’s only team to score in the opening quarter of every game this season.
Then they watched as Tom Brady and company rattled off the next 38 points seal the win, 38-10.
Bettors Make Bank on Titans Comeback
One comeback actually helped gamblers on Sunday. Tennessee was trying to keep its undefeated record facing Houston, and the public loaded up on the Titans.
William Hill reported 78% of the tickets were on Tennessee, along with 84% of the money.
Houston, a 3.5-point underdog, took the lead in the third quarter, 23-21. After a Tennessee touchdown, the Texans added two more touchdowns of their own. After that second score, interim head coach Romeo Crennel decided to go for two points instead of kicking a PAT. The failed two-point conversion allowed the Titans to score and tie the game with four seconds left, forcing overtime, where they won with a Derrick Henry 5-yard touchdown run.
“I wanted to go ahead and get the two points,” Crennel said of the decision to go for two. “It felt like that would kind of put it out of reach for them, and if we would have gotten it, we would have been in much better shape.â€
Houston backers would definitely disagree. Especially the bettor at BetMGM who placed a $110,000 wager on the Texans.
Worst Bet of the Week Pays Off
One gambler at DraftKings put down a $2 million moneyline parlay bet on the Detroit Lions and Miami Dolphins. The Lions defeated Jacksonville on the road, 34-16, and the Dolphins shutout the hapless New York Jets at home, 24-0.
He turned the $2 million bet into $2.1 million — a $100,000 profit.
Stat of the Week
The Colts’ 21-point comeback against the Bengals means there has now been a comeback victory every week this season of at least 16 points — the longest streak in NFL history.
