Week 8 NFL Betting: Favorites Dominate, Brutal Bad Beat Crushes Public Bettors

Week 8 was a wild week for NFL bettors and while most of the favorites covered the spread there was one bad beat that destroyed bank-rolls.

Bettors witnessed favorites dominating the slate with a 13-3 straight-up (SU) mark, while posting a lucrative 9-5-2 against the spread (ATS) record in Week 8 of the NFL.

Chiefs fans were upset that Taylor Swift did not attend the game in Denver. In games with Swift in attendance, Kansas City is 4-0, outscoring opponents 114-55. 

The Chiefs were 7-point road favorites but saw their six-game winning streak snapped and in the process Patrick Mahomes suffered his first loss (12-1) against the Broncos. Mahomes also saw his 16-0 road record against AFC West foes come to an end, falling four wins shy of Joe Montana’s all-time streak of 20 consecutive road wins over divisional opponents.

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Following their 24-18 victory over Tampa Bay in Week 8, Buffalo improved to 4-1 at home. While sitting atop the AFC East with a 5-3 mark, the Bills shockingly own a disappointing 3-5 ATS record - despite owning the best net point differential (+86) in the NFL.

After beating Pittsburgh, 20-10, Jacksonville improved to 4-0 on the road this season. The Jaguars (6-2), who own a commanding lead in the race for the AFC South crown, own a five-game winning streak - the longest current streak in the NFL.

From a betting perspective, the Dolphins and Jaguars own the best (ATS) marks at 6-2. After upsetting Houston, Carolina (1-5-1 ATS) earned not only their first win of the season, but in the process also notched their cash against the spread.

Massive Player Prop Parlay Win Via “Bonus Bet”

A bettor named @justin_groothuison on Instagram placed a $150 “Bonus Bet” wager on nine different events taking place on Sunday.

The investment involved Baltimore TE Mark Andrews (+115) and Dallas WR CeeDee Lamb (+100) both scoring a touchdown. Next, the wager needed Atlanta RB Bijan Robinson to both score a touchdown and surpass 50.5 receiving yards.

The next leg of the parlay involved the Vikings beating the Packers with star tight end T.J. Hockenson scoring at least once in the game.

When Eagles WR DeVonta Smith went over 49.5 receiving yards and found pay dirt with Washington WR Johan Dotson eclipsing 33.5 receiving yards - the celebration began.

The $150 wager at odds of +45579 returned an amazing $68,369.

Four-Player ‘Anytime Touchdown’ Parlay Glory

One lucky bettor named @JuicyLocks2 on ‘X’ turned a $200 ‘Anytime Touchdown’ player proposition parlay bet into a lucrative hit on Sunday.

The investment involved running backs Alvin Kamara (+118) and Bijan Robinson (+203) as well as wide receivers CeeDee Lamb (+166) and Jaylen Waddle (182) all finding the end zone in their respective games.

When all four players scored at least one touchdown, the $200 wager at odds of +4902, returned $10,004.

Dallas WR CeeDee Lamb enjoyed his best game of the season, hauling in 12 receptions for 158 yards and two touchdowns in Sunday's Week 8 win over the Rams :: Kevin Jairaj/USA TODAY Sports

Betting Landscape

In Week 8, bettors witnessed home teams go 8-8 (SU) while posting a corresponding 8-6-2 ATS mark. On the season, home teams own a small 62-57 SU (52.1%) edge, as well as a slight ATS advantage at 58-56-5 (50.8%).

*Editor's Note: International games (3) are not included in home / road stats

Bettors watched favorites post both a 13-3 SU and 9-5-2 ATS mark, leaving favorites with a 64-53-5 ATS (54.3%) edge on the year.

Games were higher scoring than oddsmakers expected posting an even split of 8-8 on the week. On the year, unders own a sizable lead with a mark of 72-49-1 (59.5%).

Bad Beat

Series of Crazy Events Leads To Bad Beat For Ravens Bettors

Baltimore, who were the biggest favorites (-9.5) on the board, were the most popular side backed by bettors in Week 8 - drawing 81% of the money on Sunday.

Let’s review the unfortunate series of events.

Arizona led 31-15, with only 78 seconds remaining in the game.

On second-and-goal from the two-yard line, Joshua Dobbs found Marquise Brown in the corner of the end zone. The Cardinals, after failing their two-point conversion attempt (twice- aided by penalty), still trailed 31-21with 1:14 left.

Here is where things really went wrong for bettors.

On the onside kick (which is hardly ever successful), the ball bounced off the chest of a complacent Ravens’ Nelson Agholor.

After recovering the kick, Arizona decided to try and cut the deficit to seven-points - by kicking a field goal - with :26 seconds remaining.

On his first attempt, Matt Prater missed. However, Arizona was called for a false start, giving Prater another attempt. After converting on the second try, Ravens bettors were served one of the worst bad beats of the season as Baltimore won 31-24, but failed the cover the number.

Sportsbook Earn Vital Decisions Over Public Bettors

65% of money on Texans (-3)

• Carolina upset Houston, 15-13, earning their first win of the 2023 season.

77% of money on KC (-7)

• Denver ended the Chiefs six-game winning streak earning a 24-9 win.

66% of money on 49ers (-4)

• Joe Burrow and the Bengals upset San Francisco with a 31-17 road victory.

81% of money on Ravens (-9.5)

• A late field by Arizona, earned the Cardinals a back-door cover, despite losing 31-24.

SURVIVOR POOL

Recap

In Week 8, Survivor pool contestants around the country strongly selected the Chargers (-9.5) over the Bears, Ravens(-9.5) over Arizona and Lions (-8.5) over the Raiders.

The attraction of using favored teams is enhanced by the fact that in Survivor Pools, teams do not need to cover any spread - they just need to win the game.

In Week 8 of the NFL season, Los Angeles, Baltimore and Detroit made up over 85% of the selections in Survivor contests.

While both Los Angeles, Baltimore and Detroit took care of business, most entrants successfully moved on in their respective contests.

The Chargers, the most selected team in Survivor Pools in Week 8, cruised to a 30-13 win over Chicago to the delight of entrants / Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

Look-Ahead

Here are three games that will likely be heavily chosen by Survivor Pool entrants in Week 9.

Cleveland (-8) vs Arizona

New Orleans (-7.5) vs Chicago

Atlanta (-5.5) vs Minnesota

Despite teams in Survivor Pools only needing to win the game and not cover point spreads, entrants can only use each team once during the regular season making strategy on when to select a team vitally important.