NFL Week 13 Big Bets Recap: $5 on 13-team parlay cashes in for $23k

By Patrick Everson
Published

When it comes to football, there’s never a lack of interesting bets. 

But some stand out more than others in their peculiarity.

For example: What goes through the mind of someone who’s betting just $1 on a three-leg parlay? We might never know the answer to that, but we know what’s going into the bettor’s wallet: nearly $1,100.

More on that wager, other notable parlays, unique wins and major wagers — winners and losers alike — as we recap NFL Week 13 and college football Week 14 betting.

Rocket Booster

Among the options DraftKings Sportsbook offers its customer is an odds booster, increasing the potential payout on a bet. On Sunday, one bettor put that to very good use on a $1, three-leg parlay:

All three players came through with the first TD in their respective games, at what normally would’ve been odds of +54500, or 545/1. Which is plenty nice, turning a dollar into $545.

But the customer utilized a 100% parlay boost, doubling the odds to +109000 (1090/1), and thereby doubling the win. So $1 became $1,090. 

That’s some very nice ROI.

Parlay Partay

You want to know how you’re living, right? Or at least on a one-off lucky streak? 

Hitting a 13-team parlay is a sure sign.

A Caesars Sports customer did that, putting together a baker’s dozen of point-spread winners in college football Week 14 odds. All 13 teams covered the spread, turning a $5 bet into $22,874.89.

At FanDuel Sportsbook, a customer had a $40 three-leg parlay tied to the Bears-Lions game on Thanksgiving:

LaPorta scored in the second and third quarters for Detroit. Allen scored in the third quarter and added a fourth-quarter TD, though the bet didn’t need that. And the Lions held on for a 23-20 win, so the game stayed under 48.5 points.

At odds of +26132 (about 261/1), the bettor cleared $10,452.80 in profit.

And how about this Turkey Day Trifecta: A DraftKings bettor put $2 on a three-leg parlay of which player would score the first TD in each of the three NFL games. And the bettor nailed it at odds of +99650 — approaching 997/1 — to turn two bucks into $1,995.

Herd Mentality

FanDuel Sportsbook noted on Sunday that more than 17,000 customers were on the same seven-team moneyline parlay in Week 13 NFL odds.

Those bettors got a nice sweat and a solid win, too. To cash, all seven teams had to win outright, and most of the games were close. The Commanders rolled to a 42-19 victory over Tennessee, but the other six legs were settled in one-score games:

  • Chargers 17, Falcons 13, as Atlanta’s Kirk Cousins threw four INTs, including the decisive pick-six.
  • Steelers 44, Bengals 38, with Pittsburgh hanging on after leading 41-24 in the fourth quarter.
  • Colts 25, Patriots 24, with Indianapolis winning on a TD and 2-point conversion with 12 seconds left.
  • Texans 23, Jaguars 20, as Houston holds off Jacksonville’s rally.
  • Vikings 23, Cardinals 22, with Minnesota winning on a late touchdown.
  • Seahawks 26, Jets 21, as Seattle rallies from a 21-7 deficit.

When the dust settled, anyone who wagered on that seven-teamer got a nice cash out at odds of +4891, or about 49/1. So even a $10 bet would’ve netted $490.

Here’s Hoping You Had It

It’s not all about cashing out wild parlays for thousands or tens of thousands of dollars. When you multiply any wager by 25, that’s gonna nicely fatten the wallet.

As noted above, Bears wideout Keenan Allen had two touchdowns in the loss to Detroit. At DraftKings, Allen was +2500 to score two or more touchdowns. So a $10 wager would’ve netted $250.

Also, as noted above, Lions tight end Sam LaPorta scored two touchdowns. At FanDuel, LaPorta was +2100 to do that, so 10 bucks on that prop would’ve earned $210 in profit.

Bills running back Ray Davis was +3100 at FanDuel to score the first TD in Sunday night’s snowy affair against the 49ers. Davis did so to give Buffalo a 7-3 lead en route to a 35-10 blowout win.

A $10 bet on Davis profited $310.

I Like Big Bets And I Cannot Lie

Caesars Sports took a bevy of six-figure bets on NFL Week 13 odds. Among the more notable major wagers:

  • $220,000 Lions -9.5 vs. Bears. Detroit wins 23-20 but doesn’t cover the number. So that’s a big donation to the house.
  • $200,000 Lions moneyline -600 vs. Bears. All Detroit had to do was win, which it barely did. Bettor profits $33,333.33 (total payout $233,333.33).
  • $165,000 Bears +9.5 vs. Lions. Chicago loses 23-20 but covers the spread, so the bettor racks up $150,000 in profit (total payout $315,000).
  • $114,000 Cowboys moneyline -180 vs. Giants. Dallas wins 27-20, and the bettor profits $60,000 (total payout $174,000).
  • $110,000 Bills -6 vs. 49ers. Buffalo rolls 35-10, and the bettor nets $100,000 profit (total payout $210,000).
  • $110,000 Chargers -1 vs. Falcons. Los Angeles wins 17-13, so the bettor profits $100,000 ($210,000 total payout).

And we’ll wrap up with the biggest sweat of the week. A Caesars customer put $240,000 on Chiefs moneyline -800 vs. the Raiders. All Kansas City had to do was win the game.

In the waning seconds, with K.C. up 19-17, Las Vegas was closing in on a game-winning field-goal attempt. But the Raiders fumbled, and the Chiefs recovered — albeit on a controversial play — and Kansas City escaped with the victory.

So the bettor escaped, as well, profiting $30,000, for a $270,000 total payout. Even though the Chiefs got there, just remember: There’s no such thing as a sure thing, particularly in NFL betting. Keep it reasonable.

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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