It wasn’t just the Steelers and their fans who emerged victorious from a 38-29 win Sunday in the cross-state rivalry with the Eagles — it was those that bet on them as well.
And plenty did.
Rush Street Interactive, which operates the BetRivers and PlaySugarHouse sites in Pennsylvania, reported that among all its multi-state sites, the Steelers-Eagles game was the most heavily bet among the NFL’s 1 p.m. games. Within Pennsylvania, it received the biggest betting volume of all of Sunday’s games.
And most of that money went the Steelers’ way as 7-point favorites. Rush Street reported after the game that 77% of the betting handle nationally and 76% within Pennsylvania backed the Steelers, who were also more than -300 favorites on the moneyline.
FanDuel, which handles the biggest volume among the 10 online sportsbooks in Pennsylvania, reported from across its multi-state sites that 66% of its point spread bets and 71% of point spread money were on the Steelers.
The game had plenty to hold interest for most bettors, though those who preferred the high side of an over/under around 44.5 could already count that as a win early in the second half, when the Steelers jumped ahead 31-14. (FanDuel said 64% of o/u bettors had the over.)
Eagles bettors at +7 could be forgiven for switching channels at that point, but if they turned back in the fourth quarter, they were rewarded with a 31-29 scoreboard.
Even though the Steelers had the ball in Eagles territory with three minutes left, all the Philly defense needed to do was hold them to a field goal to put a smile on the face of those taking the points.
That’s when Ben Roethlisberger hit wide-open wide receiver Chase Claypool with a pass for the rookie’s fourth touchdown of the game and the final score, breaking the hearts of Eagles coaches, players, fans, and bettors alike.
Rush Street noted in a press release that more than a dozen Pennsylvania bettors had taken its odds of 18/1 for Claypool to score 2-plus TDs. (No one, apparently, was offered the choice of astronomical odds for him to score 3-plus or 4-plus TDs, as that’s, well, just too ludicrous to imagine him doing.)
Now both Pennsylvania teams face challenging contests Sunday, with the undefeated Steelers deemed an early 4- to 4.5-point favorite hosting the Cleveland Browns and the Eagles a 7.5-point home underdog against the Baltimore Ravens.
But something very unusual happened after the game to their odds of winning their divisions — the losing team improved its perceived chances more than the winning team.
Despite their record dropping to 1-3-1, putting the Eagles a half-game behind the Dallas Cowboys when they had been a half-game ahead at the start of the day, Philadelphia’s NFL East-winning odds improved to +130 from +140 at FanDuel and to +120 from +140 at DraftKings.
The reason seems clear: While the Cowboys rallied for a 37-34 win over the New York Giants, they lost star quarterback Dak Prescott for the season due to a gruesome ankle injury. Ex-Bengal Andy Dalton is taking his place.
The Steelers, though their 4-0 record is a half-game better than that of the Ravens, remain just +220 to win the AFC North, according to FanDuel, and +225, according to DraftKings. Those odds represent slight improvements from +230 at both sites before the Steelers and Ravens each won Sunday.