So this is what it’s come to for betting backers of the winless-into-October Philadelphia Eagles: FOX Bet is practically begging you to keep putting money down on the team.
The online sportsbook is offering a “Get Your Money Back” option on the Eagles moneyline for their Sunday night game with the San Francisco 49ers.
The Eagles, who are 7-point underdogs for the West Coast game at nearly all of Pennsylvania’s 10 online sportsbooks, were +250 on the FOX Bet moneyline Friday morning. The site offered a free bet equivalent to whatever you wager, up to $50, if you bet the Eagles moneyline and they lose.
In other words, if you bet $50 that getting thousands of miles away from home is just what the Eagles need to win, you net a $125 profit if they succeed. And if they lose again, you’re provided another $50 betting opportunity to make it up.
If you’d given up on the Eagles while watching them stumble to their 0-2-1 start, this just might be the time to give them another chance.
Eagles’ odds plunging on multiple fronts
The fortunes of Pennsylvania’s two NFL teams continued heading in opposite directions last week, and the shifting futures odds for the two teams reflect it.
In one of the biggest indicators of the growing gap in perception, FanDuel now has the Steelers as 7-point favorites over the Eagles for their Oct. 11 game at Heinz Field. At the start of the season, Pittsburgh was a 1.5-favorite for the cross-state contest, an indication that the Eagles were actually considered the stronger team at that time.
But that was before Carson Wentz threw two interceptions in three consecutive games to start the season. That was before coach Doug Pederson was pilloried for accepting a 23-23 tie in overtime last week vs. the Cincinnati Bengals instead of chancing a fourth-down try for the win. And that was before a slew of injuries to the team’s receiving corps and others.
Add it all up, and nine of the sites have the Eagles as 7-point underdogs in San Francisco, while BetAmerica makes the line 7.5 (but with -125 juice to take the Eagles). The over/under is set at 46 most places, but FOX Bet had it 46.5 as of Friday morning.
The 49ers (2-1) have their own injury problems, including the apparent loss of starting quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo for the second straight game, but unheralded backup Nick Mullens was impressive filling in for him last week in throwing for 343 yards in a 36-9 stomping of the New York Giants.
Odds on the Eagles to win the Super Bowl have fallen to between 50/1 (FOX Bet) and 66/1 (from the sites that use Kambi odds, including DraftKings, Unibet, Barstool, Parx, and BetRivers/PlaySugarHouse). Their over/under on season wins is now a mere 6 from FanDuel, and 6.5 (+120) from the Kambi-backed sites.
Steelers still a big underdog in division
While the Steelers (3-0) and their betting supporters were on a roll in September, the momentum came to an unexpected halt this week with postponement of their game Sunday visiting the Tennessee Titans.
That came as a result of more than a dozen Titans players and team personnel testing positive for COVID-19. While official announcement of a makeup date was still awaited Friday morning, it has been speculated that the game will be moved to Week 7, with the Steelers to shift a game scheduled with the Ravens at that time to their original bye date one week later.
Just because the Steelers aren’t playing this week doesn’t mean you can’t bet on them and their players, but if you were interested in futures bets on them, you were better off acting a month ago than now, obviously.
They were 25/1 to win the Super Bowl before the season started. The best price to get now is 16/1 from FOX Bet and Kambi sites.
The Steelers’ over/under on wins is up to 10.5 at FanDuel, instead of the 9 it had at season’s start.
Possibly the best bet consideration for a pro-Steelers bet is on them to win the AFC North, as they are still an underdog behind the Ravens at as much as +215 at Kambi sites (+210 from FanDuel and FOX Bet), despite being one game up on Baltimore in the standings.
Watt, Roethlisberger are among futures options
Two Steelers are prominent, meanwhile, in futures bets for end-of-season awards.
Linebacker T.J. Watt is the favorite at FOX Bet for Defensive Player of the Year at +425, while Kambi sites have him even with Rams lineman Aaron Donald at +400.
QB Ben Roethlisberger, the preseason favorite for Comeback Player of the Year, is now behind the Patriots’ Cam Newton, whom FOX Bet has at +160 compared to Roethlisberger’s +320.
Other sites also have promos to consider
Aside from FOX Bets’ offer to get your money back — if you lose — when betting on the Eagles, a couple of other promotions are out there worth considering from the sportsbooks.
DraftKings, as it has in recent weeks, is again offering a 20% profit boost for every Week 4 game.
BetRivers and sister site PlaySugarHouse, meanwhile, offer a single 50% profit boost for an NFL contest for those who log in on Sunday.
And FanDuel has a “risk-free” same-game parlay offer: Customers receive up to $10 in site credit as a refund for betting a parlay that has three or more legs to it for a single NFL game.
It’s also worth looking at BetRivers, PlaySugarHouse, and Barstool if betting on Sunday, because last week they all continued the prior week’s practice of offering reduced juice (-107 or -108 instead of -110) for same-day bets on much of the NFL action.
Pitt favored by two TDs on Saturday
Pitt (3-0) continues to monopolize the Pennsylvania college football schedule as Penn State and Temple await the start of their seasons.
Most sites make the Panthers 14-point favorites hosting North Carolina State at noon Saturday, while FanDuel sets the line at 14.5.
The over/under ranges from 47 at the Kambi-backed sites to 48 at BetAmerica, with FanDuel, FOX Bet, and Caesars straddling the midway point at 47.5.
