Sports betting roundup: Many bettors wagering on the NFL find success again

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Philadelphia Eagles running back Saquon Barkley (26) avoids a tackle from New York Giants safety Jason Pinnock (27) during the third quarter of an NFL football game, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in East Rutherford, N.J. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)

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Washington Commanders tight end Zach Ertz (86) celebrates with teammates after catching a 12-yard touchdown pass during the first half of an NFL football game against the Carolina Panthers, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Landover, Md. (AP Photo/Nick Wass)

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Cleveland Browns quarterback Jameis Winston (5) passes in the second half of an NFL football game against the Cincinnati Bengals, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/David Richard)

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Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14) signals a first down against the Minnesota Vikings during the second half of an NFL football game Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Minneapolis. (AP Photo/Bruce Kluckhohn)

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Kansas City Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes (15) celebrates after a touchdown by Mecole Hardman during the second half of an NFL football game against the San Francisco 49ers in Santa Clara, Calif., Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Jed Jacobsohn)

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Georgia running back Trevor Etienne (1) celebrates his touchdown run against Texas as Georgia offensive lineman Monroe Freeling (57) looks on during the first half of an NCAA college football game in Austin, Texas, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024. (AP Photo/Rodolfo Gonzalez)

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New York Liberty guard Sabrina Ionescu (20) reacts after scoring against the Minnesota Lynx during the third quarter of Game 5 of the WNBA basketball final series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Pamela Smith)

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Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Russell Wilson (3) celebrates his touchdown in the second half of an NFL football game against the New York Jets in Pittsburgh, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024. (AP Photo/Gene J. Puskar)

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Tennessee wide receiver Chris Brazzell II (17) celebrates scoring a touch with running back Dylan Sampson (6) during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Alabama, Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Knoxville, Tenn. (AP Photo/Wade Payne)

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J.T. Poston hits off the tee on the 13th hole during the final round of the Shriners Children’s Open golf tournament, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Las Vegas. (AP Photo/Ian Maule)

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Los Angeles Dodgers’ Shohei Ohtani hits RBI-single against the New York Mets during the sixth inning in Game 6 of a baseball NL Championship Series, Sunday, Oct. 20, 2024, in Los Angeles. (AP Photo/Ashley Landis)

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New York Yankees’ Aaron Judge is hit by a pitch thrown by Cleveland Guardians starting pitcher Tanner Bibee during the first inning in Game 5 of the baseball AL Championship Series Saturday, Oct. 19, 2024, in Cleveland. (AP Photo/Godofredo A. Vásquez)

By RYAN HANNABLE of BetMGM Sportsbook

For the second straight week, many bettors wagering on the NFL found success at the BetMGM sportsbook.

Five teams that brought in 70% or more of the bets covered the spread, including the Philadelphia Eagles (-3 at the New York Giants), who brought in 83% of the bets.

Trends of the Week

Besides the Eagles, the most popular teams in terms of bets were the Washington Commanders at -9.5 (79%) versus the Carolina Panthers, the Cincinnati Bengals at -5.5 (72%) at the Cleveland Browns, the Detroit Lions at +1.5 (72%) at the Minnesota Vikings and the Kansas City Chiefs at +1.5 (70%) at the San Francisco 49ers. All covered the spread and won outright.

NFL underdogs of 5.5 or more points are 2-7-1 against the spread over the last two weeks, including 1-4 on Sunday.

The biggest college football game on Saturday was Georgia at No. 1 Texas. Texas entered the game as a 4.5-point favorite but lost 30-15. Bettors expected Georgia to pull off the upset. At +160, Georgia took in 75% of the bets and 76% of the money. The Longhorns took in 53% of the bets and 44% of the money against the spread.

The New York Liberty won the WNBA championship by beating the Minnesota Lynx in overtime 67-62 in the deciding game in the best-of-five series. The Liberty did not cover the spread after closing as 5.5-point favorites, taking in 64% of the money.

Upsets of the Week

There was an upset on Sunday Night Football. Pittsburgh beat the New York Jets 35-17 in Russell Wilson’s first start as a member of the Steelers. Pittsburgh closed as a 2.5-point underdog and did not bring in much action. In terms of against-the-spread bets, the Jets took in 57% of the bets and 70% of the money. In terms of moneyline bets, Pittsburgh (+120) attracted only 17% of the money.

Tennessee upset Alabama 24-17 on Saturday. At +125, the Volunteers were the most bet underdog to win in all of college football on Saturday.

On the PGA Tour, J.T. Poston won the Shriners Children’s Open by one shot over Doug Ghim. It was Poston’s third career PGA Tour win. He entered the tournament with +4000 odds to win, and took in only 1.5% of the bets and 0.6% of the handle in pretournament betting.

Coming up

The World Series will start Friday night in Los Angeles when the Dodgers host the New York Yankees.

As of Monday, the Dodgers are favored at -130, while the Yankees are +110.

In terms of how many games the series will last, six games has the shortest odds at +195, followed by seven games at +200. Five games is +270, while four games is +650.

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This column was provided to The Associated Press by BetMGM online sportsbook.

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AP sports: https://apnews.com/hub/sports