Betting buzz: Inside the head-scratching bets on the New York Jets

Everything that happens in sports has some additional context when viewed from a sports betting perspective.From season-changing injuries to record-setting moments and so much more, the sports news cycle will constantly and significantly affect the sports betting industry.

Our betting buzz file, with contributions from David Purdum, Doug Greenberg and others, aims to provide fans a look at the sports betting stories that are driving the conversation.

Head-scratching betting on New York Jets continues

Doug Greenberg and David Purdum: It keeps happening. Week after week, bets from respected bettors keep showing up on the New York Jets. It hasn't gone well.
The Jets lost 26-21 to the underdog Seattle Seahawks on Sunday and fell to 3-9 on the season. The Jets are the first team in the Super Bowl era to be favored in nine of their first 12 games and go 3-9 or worse straight up, according to ESPN Research.

It's not just diehard Jets fans betting with their hearts, either. It's actually sharp bettors, who have enough respect from bookmakers to make the line move.

This week, the Jets opened as 1-point home underdogs against the Seahawks but closed as 1.5-point favorites. It was the fourth time in the past six weeks that the Jets opened as underdogs but closed as favorites. It was the seventh consecutive game that the point spread shifted toward the Jets during the week. The Jets are 1-6 straight up and against the spread during that stretch.

"The sharp groups came back on the Jets again ... and they lost again," John Murray, vice president of race and sports at the Westgate SuperBook in Las Vegas, said. "That seems like the one constant in the NFL this season: The sharp groups bet on the Jets, and the Jets lose."

Murray said he understood the support for Jets this week. New York was coming off a bye, and the Seahawks were in a sandwich spot between division games against the Arizona Cardinals and had to travel across the country.

"But at some point, you have to think there's something better to do with your money than bet these guys every week," he added.

Some bettors are still backing the Jets to win the Super Bowl. Caesars Sportsbook reported taking Super Bowl bets on the Jets at 1,000-1 from "quite a few courageous customers" as recently as this past week.

Entering the week, BetMGM had liabilities on only three teams winning the Super Bowl: the Detroit Lions, Pittsburgh Steelers and Jets.

"We're not too worried about the Jets," Christian Cipollini, trading manager at BetMGM, said in a recent phone interview with ESPN.

At BetMGM, more money has been on the Jets to win the Super Bowl than 25 teams, including the Green Bay Packers, Los Angeles Chargers and Steelers.

The Jets opened as 6.5-point underdogs against the Miami Dolphinsfor Week 14.

Tomlin's Steelers win seventh straight as underdogs

The Steelers won outright as underdogs yet again, this time after getting three points on the road against the Cincinnati Bengals.

It's Pittsburgh's seventh consecutive regular-season win as an underdog, one short of the all-time record set by the 2008-09 Bengals.

Coach Mike Tomlin improved to 52-43 straight up as an underdog, tying Andy Reid for the most such wins among active head coaches. Tomlin is one of only two coaches in the Super Bowl era to have a winning record as an underdog, along with Matt LaFleur (18-13). The Steelers are 60-32-3 against the spread as underdogs in the Tomlin era.

Pittsburgh was one of the most popular underdogs with the public on Sunday, garnering 64% of bets on the spread and 80.4% of bets on the money line (+140) at ESPN BET. The Steelers' ninth win of the season also clinched the over on their preseason win total of 8.5.

Odds & Ends

• After rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown in the Eagles' 24-19 victory over the Ravens, Saquon Barkley's odds to win MVP shortened to +225 at ESPN BET, trailing only Bills QB Josh Allen (+150).
• The Tennessee Titans failed to cover +6 in a blowout loss to the Washington Commanders, dropping them to 2-10 ATS on the season, tied for the worst such start in the Super Bowl era and the first since the 2013 New England Patriots.
• A bettor this week in Nevada placed a $200 bet on the Patriots to win the Super Bowl with Caesars Sportsbook at 5,000-1 odds for a chance at a $1 million payout. The Patriots lost to the Colts 25-24 Sunday and fell to 3-10.
• Six teams won but did not cover the spread in Week 13, the most in any week this season.
• Pittsburgh and Cincinnati combined for 48 points in the first half of their contest, cashing the over (46.5) before halftime. Overs in Bengals games are now 7-0 when they face a team with a winning record.
• The Cleveland Browns would clinch the under on their preseason win total (8.5) with a loss against the Denver Broncos on Monday night.

Michigan's upset of Ohio State by the numbers

David Purdum and Doug Greenberg: Ohio State entered Saturday as one of the largest favorites in the history of its rivalry with Michigan, but it was the Wolverines who emerged from The Horseshoe with an enormous upset victory. Here's a look at Michigan's win through a betting lens:

20.5 -- Michigan closed as a 20.5-point underdog at ESPN BET, making it the largest upset, point spread-wise, in the rivalry's history since at least the 1978 FBS-FCS split, according to ESPN Research.

1 -- Where Ohio State ranked out of all college football teams in terms of bets placed and money wagered on the money line at DraftKings.

41.5 -- The over/under for the rivalry game closed at 41.5. With just 23 points, this was the first Michigan-Ohio State game to go under the total since 2013. ESPN BET reported that The Game represented its most-bet over by tickets for the college football weekend.

83% -- Ohio State accounted for 83% of the money bet on the game's money line at BetMGM sportsbooks.

3 -- The Wolverines are the third defending national champion to be 20-point underdogs at any point the following season since 1978, joining 2011 Auburn and 2020 LSU.

5 -- Ohio State becomes the fifth team ranked in the top five in the College Football Playoff rankings to lose as a 20-plus-point favorite. It was also the fifth-largest straight-up upset according to the spread this season.

$28,000 -- A bettor in Indiana with Caesars Sportsbook placed a $28,000 money-line bet on Ohio State to win the game straight up at -1400 odds. The bet would've won a net $2,000.