Sports Betting Weekly Wrap: Dodgers World Series Favorites With Ohtani, Only 1 NFL Team Qualified For Playoffs, Next Legal State In January And More

Here's a look at the top stories for the week, top bets cashed and what's next in the world of sports betting.

Wild Thursday Night Football: The Thursday Night Football game for Week 15 of the National Football League season marked a change in pace with the over-hitting before halftime.

The Las Vegas Raiders defeated the Los Angeles Chargers with a score of 63-21. This game marked the most points scored in Raiders history. It was also the first time this score has ever happened in an NFL game, also known as Scorigami. The Raiders led 42-0 at halftime in the game that was streamed on Amazon.com Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN) owned Amazon Prime Video.

There were plenty of touchdowns in the Thursday Night Football game, including Raiders rookie wide receiver Tre Tucker who scored two touchdowns. Despite never scoring and having only eight receptions prior to the game, one bettor wagered $25 on Tucker to find the endzone twice, winning $5,000.

Monday Night Football Upsets: Week 14 of the NFL season saw two upsets happen during a special doubleheader of Monday Night Football. Also, two prime time games aired simultaneously for the first time.

Big Saturday for Bettors: Dec. 16 will mark a big day for sports bettors with the kickoff of College Football bowl games. Seven NCAA Football bowl games will air on ABC, ESPN and stream on ESPN+ — all units of Walt Disney Company (NYSE:DIS).

The largest spread of the games is currently Appalachian State favored by 6.5 points against Miami (OH) at DraftKings Inc (NASDAQ:AMZN), suggesting close games for bettors.

Saturday will also feature three NFL games, all airing on NFL Network. Of the six NFL teams featured Saturday, five have 7-6 records. The games are:

  • 1 p.m. ET: Minnesota Vikings (7-6) at Cincinnati Bengals (7-6), Bengals -3.5
  • 4:30 p.m. ET: Pittsburgh Steelers (7-6) at Indianapolis Colts (7-6), Colts -1.5
  • 8:15 p.m. ET: Denver Broncos (7-6) at Detroit Lions (9-4), Lions -4.5

NFL Playoffs, Super Bowl LVIII: With four weeks of NFL games left, one team has officially qualified for the postseason.

The San Francisco 49ers clinched a playoff berth. Given the closeness of NFL teams and their records this season, only two teams have officially been eliminated from the postseason: the 1-12 Carolina Panthers and 3-10 New England Patriots.

The current odds of winning Super Bowl LVIII on Feb. 11 are:

  • San Francisco 49ers: +230
  • Baltimore Ravens: +550
  • Philadelphia Eagles: +700
  • Kansas City Chiefs: +700
  • Miami Dolphins: +850
  • Dallas Cowboys: +850

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  • Los Angeles Dodgers: +425
  • Atlanta Braves: +700
  • New York Yankees: +900
  • Houston Astros: +1000
  • Texas Rangers: +1100
  • Philadelphia Phillies: +1100

See Last Week’s Sports Betting Weekly Wrap here.

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