Eagles’ Hail Mary Causes One of Biggest Swings of NFL Season for Sportsbooks

Eagles’ Hail Mary Causes One of Biggest Swings of NFL Season for Sportsbooks article feature image
Credit:

Mitchell Leff/Getty Images. Pictured: Richard Rodgers

One of the worst beats in recent gambling history turned into a boon for sportsbooks last night.

Bettors piled on the Seahawks for their Monday Night Football matchup against the Eagles, with most of the action coming at Seattle -6.5.

FanDuel had 92% of its money on the Seahawks. DraftKings had 95% on Seattle.

And everything looked like the sportsbooks would be paying out big.

Seattle went up 23-9 with 1:16 left in the game. But Carson Wentz, fighting for existence, threw a Hail Mary that tipped off Travis Fulgham's outstretched arms before Richard Rodgers scooped it with one hand as he fell to the ground in the end zone to make it 23-15.

Significant to some 😱

Richard Rodgers catches a miracle Hail Mary and the Eagles (+6.5) get the 2pt conversion to lose by 6 and cover the spread. pic.twitter.com/qroURY2BOz

— The Action Network (@ActionNetworkHQ) December 1, 2020

With time still left on the clock, Eagles coach Doug Pederson figured he would go for two — statistically the right move. Eagles running back Miles Sanders ran straight up the middle and easily scored the two point conversion.

So the Seahawks won by….six.

"The swing was absolutely massive," said PointsBet spokesman Patrick Eichner. "The Seahawks were our top liability the whole weekend. It turned a pretty solid Week 12 into a great one."

Jeff Sherman at the SuperBook in Las Vegas said the turn of events represented a six figure swing at their sports book, one of the top 10 swings of the 2020 NFL season. FanDuel spokesman Kevin Hennessy said it was a seven-figure swing for them.

Much of BetMGM's fortunes were on a single bet. The sportsbook operator had taken a $500,000 wager on the Seahawks (-6.5).

Sportsbooks fared well in Week 12 as many favorites failed to cover, including the Arizona Cardinals and the Las Vegas Raiders, who lost outright. The New York Giants and the Minnesota Vikings failing to cover also emptied out bettors wallets.

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