And alas, it was the public’s turn to win. With the amount of upsets in the first three weeks of the 2022 NFL season, the sportsbooks were very profitable, and happy. But that was due to change. “It was the customers’ turn this weekend, and that happens over the course of 18 weeks,” said DraftKings director of trading Johnny Avello.

The biggest loss for the sportsbook came with the Kansas City Chiefs victory over the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. The Chiefs are one of the heaviest wagered teams every week, so given that they were underdogs and came away with the victory, the public experienced a huge boost. Over 70% of the bets and 60% of the money was on the Chiefs. Also, when popular players perform well as they did in that game, that also spells trouble for sportsbooks as in-game parlays will further contribute to the losses.

Another reason for the public’s success this weekend, was the amount of overs that hit. Prior to Week 4, 63% of the unders had hit, which is usually good news for the sportsbooks as the public likes to bet on offense and points. However, the overs were 9-7 last weekend. The Cardinals covering against the Panthers hurt the house as well, with almost 80% of the money on the Cardinals.

Covers by the Patriots, Jets, and Falcons reduced further loses for the sportsbooks, but the damage was already done. Chalk this week up as a victory for the bettors!