Let’s ride FitzMagic, Buccaneers against Steelers on ‘MNF’
The FanDuel bettor in New Jersey who won $82,000 on a $110 wager at 750-1 odds created by an apparent computer glitch has nothing on a William Hill bettor in Nevada.
On Week 2 in the NFL when seven underdogs won outright, an unidentified bettor correctly picked the winner (straight up, ties win) in all 15 games to win William Hill’s $84,565 progressive parlay card jackpot. The parlay costs $5 and cashed at odds of almost 17,000-1.
“On a week where I thought it was impossible to hit,” William Hill sports book director Nick Bogdanovich said. “I tip my hat to that guy. He probably should’ve won $860,000. It was a hard week. A lot of ’dogs.”
Bogdanovich said someone usually hits the progressive parlay multiple times each season. The biggest jackpot was $306,000.
We’ll settle for a 5-0 week against the spread or even 3-2 (60 percent).
What better way to start a magical run than by backing the man known as FitzMagic?
Tampa Bay has taken the league by storm behind veteran quarterback Ryan Fitzpatrick, a Harvard graduate who has thrown for 400 yards and four touchdowns in each of the first two weeks in upsets of the Saints and Eagles.
Now the national spotlight will shine on Tampa Bay during a “Monday Night Football” matchup against the struggling Steelers (0-1-1).
The Buccaneers are 1-point home underdogs to Pittsburgh, which has made headlines for the wrong reasons. Steelers running back Le’Veon Bell is still holding out, and wide receiver Antonio Brown implied on Twitter that he wanted to be traded.
Pittsburgh has allowed 63 points in the last six quarters and surrendered six TD passes to Patrick Mahomes in Sunday’s 42-37 home loss to the Chiefs.
The Steelers are on a 1-7 spread slide, and Tampa Bay is on a 6-0 ATS streak as home underdogs. We’ll ride the hot hand and back the Bucs.
Four more plays (home team in CAPS):
Patriots (-6½) over LIONS: Backing New England after a loss has been a sound strategy, as it’s on a 13-2 ATS run in that spot overall and 21-4 ATS on the road following a loss. The Patriots lost 31-20 at Jacksonville in a rematch of last year’s AFC Championship Game, but should bounce back against a Detroit team that has allowed a league-worst 78 points in losses to the Jets and 49ers. The Lions are on a 2-7 spread slide as home underdogs. The master (Bill Belichick) will teach his pupil (Detroit coach Matt Patricia) another lesson Sunday night.
RAVENS (-5) over Broncos: Denver has certainly improved from last season’s debacle. But the Broncos won their first two games at home over the Seahawks and Raiders by a combined four points, and Case Keenum threw four interceptions. Denver has covered one of its last 10 road games. Baltimore has had extra time to prepare, plays well at home and still has a strong defense.
FALCONS (-3) over Saints: Atlanta bounced back from its season-opening loss at Philadelphia with a 31-24 home win over Carolina. Matt Ryan threw for two TDs and ran for two. New Orleans is fortunate to be 1-1 after escaping with a win over the Browns following a 48-40 loss to Tampa Bay. The Falcons have won three of the last four meetings, and the home team has covered nine of the past 13.
PANTHERS (-3) over Bengals: Cincinnati will be without running back Joe Mixon and has lost 11 of its last 16 road games. Carolina has won six straight home games and 18 of 24. Cam Newton threw for 335 yards and three TDs against Atlanta, and the Panthers’ defense remains solid behind linebacker Luke Keuchly.
Last week: 2-3 against the spread
Season: 4-5-1
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
