The Cincinnati Bengals and QB Joe Burrow are getting a lot of love from bettors heading into NFL Wild Card Weekend.
According to BetMGM, the Bengals-Ravens game is the most-bet game during the Wild Card round, with Bengals -6.5 the most popular ticket. Looking ahead to Super Bowl MVP, Burrow currently leads that market in both ticket and handle percent.
A year after a surprise appearance in Super Bowl LVI, the Bengals are attempting to repeat as AFC champions. But they are, once again, not the favorites to do so.
As such, bettors are finding the longer odds enticing just one week into legal Ohio sports betting.
Cincinnati Bengals vs. Baltimore Ravens most bet-on Wild Card game
Bengals vs. Ravens Round III is shaping up to be the game of the weekend for bettors.
The game is a rematch of last week’s season finale, which the Bengals won 27-16. The Ravens chose to rest some of their starters, however, as they still needed to win a coin flip for home field advantage in the Wild Card round if they had beaten the Bengals in Week 18. The Ravens defeated the Bengals in Baltimore in Week 5, 19-17.
The well-rested Ravens are 6.5-point underdogs at BetMGM Sportsbook Ohio, and bettors are loading up on the Bengals. The Cincinnati Bengals -6.5 is the most-bet ticket, and the AFC North matchup is the most-bet game of the week.
The line opened at Bengals -5.5 — it is the only Wild Card line to have already moved a full point. Still, 91% of bets and 95% of handle are on the Bengals.
That could change if Baltimore QB Lamar Jackson is deemed healthy enough to play — the former MVP has missed the team’s last five games due to a knee injury.
Bettors are not liking the over 43.5 in Bengals-Ravens
Despite all the interest in Bengals-Ravens just a week after these teams put up a total of 43 points with many Baltimore offensive starters sitting out, bettors are not heavily investing in the over-43.5 total.
The Bengals-Ravens game ranks fourth in most-bet overs. At BetMGM, the most-bet overs are:
- Seahawks-49ers (o/u 43.0)
- Chargers-Jaguars (47.5)
- Dolphins-Bills (44.5)
- Bengals-Ravens (43.5)
The games with the most tickets on unders are the Giants-Vikings (48.5) and the Cowboys-Buccaneers (45.5).
Joe Burrow is by far the most popular Super Bowl MVP bet
The Kansas City Chiefs have a first-round bye and are the favorite to win the Super Bowl, but bettors are more interested in Burrow’s +900 odds to win Super Bowl MVP than Patrick Mahomes’ +400 odds, despite Burrow needing to win an extra game to get to the Super Bowl.
Mahomes does sit in second place in Super Bowl MVP ticket percentage, however.
BetMGM Super Bowl MVP ticket %:
- Joe Burrow (+900 odds, 12.6% of tickets)
- Patrick Mahomes (+400, 8.8%)
- Christian McCaffrey (+1800, 8.5%)
- Josh Allen (+550, 7.2%)
- Nick Bosa (+10000, 6.0%)
- Brock Purdy (+1000, 5.3%)
- AJ Brown (+5000, 5.0%)
- George Kittle (+15000, 5.0%)
- Jalen Hurts (+650, 4.4%)
- Tom Brady (+3000, 3.8%)
Like Burrow, bettors also appear intrigued by the longer odds of two San Francisco 49ers players, running back Christian McCaffrey (+1800 to win Super Bowl MVP) and defensive end Nick Bosa (+10000).
A lot of money is on McCaffrey in particular. The star running back has received 17.1% of the Super Bowl MVP handle, second only to Burrow (17.9%).
BetMGM Super Bowl MVP handle %:
- Joe Burrow (+900, 17.9%)
- Christian McCaffrey (+1800, 17.7%)
- Brock Purdy (+1000, 9.6%)
- Patrick Mahomes (+400, 8.1%)
- Josh Allen (+550, 7.6%)
- Nick Bosa (+1000, 6.5%)
- Jalen Hurts (+650, 5.3%)
- AJ Brown (+5000, 4.4%)
- Travis Kelce (+2800, 3.3%)
- Josh Allen (JAX) (odds NA, 2.5%)
Interestingly, Jacksonville Jaguars defensive end Josh Allen — not to be confused with the Buffalo QB — is 10th in Super Bowl MVP handle percent. His odds to win the award opened at +50000, but he is currently off the board.
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