It turns out you can bet against Patrick Mahomes.
The Eagles bettors who wagered against Mahomes and the Chiefs in Super Bowl 59 on Sunday in New Orleans never broke a sweat during a 40-22 blowout that wasn’t as close as the final score suggests.
Philadelphia, which closed as a 1-point underdog, led 24-0 at halftime and 40-6 late in the fourth quarter before Kansas City scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes to push the game over the total of 48½ points.
Mahomes’ Super Bowl record fell to 3-2 (3-2 against the spread) and his career playoff mark fell to 17-4 (14-7 against the spread). The Eagles sacked the quarterback six times and ruined the Chiefs’ bid to become the first NFL team to win three straight Super Bowls.
It was the most lopsided Super Bowl since 2021, when Tampa Bay crushed Kansas City 31-9.
“It was a lot like the Super Bowl loss to the Buccaneers where Mahomes’ offensive line couldn’t block anyone and he was just running for his life,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said.
Sportsbooks won on the Eagles, who avenged their 38-35 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl 57. Philadelphia won its second NFL title in eight years after beating the Patriots 41-33 in Super Bowl 52. But books lost on the total as it flew over the number.
“It was still a good outcome getting the Eagles to win in the fashion they did, but we really needed the game under to have a phenomenal day,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “This is the third Eagles Super Bowl in the last eight years and all three went sailing over.”
Prop report
The books did well on the ever-popular props, which accounted for about 65 percent of the money wagered on the game at the SuperBook.
Bettors lost big on Eagles running back Saquon Barkley, who rushed for only 57 yards, his second-lowest output of the season. Barkley also didn’t score a touchdown and went under on virtually all of his props.
Chiefs tight end Travis Kelce went under on his props as well. He finished with four catches for 39 yards and didn’t score.
“There were a variety of touchdown scorers, which would usually be favorable to the customers, but unfortunately Saquon Barkley was the most popular (same-game parlay) leg and he did not see the end zone,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said.
Scorigami scare
The final minutes of the game were meaningless to most viewers but very meaningful to many bettors. The game went over the total when Mahomes threw a touchdown pass to wide receiver DeAndre Hopkins to make the score 40-12 with 2:54 left.
Had that been the final score, it would’ve been a scorigami — a final score that had never happened before in NFL history — and bettors would’ve cashed a bevy of tickets at 20-1 odds.
Bettors won on a successful 2-point conversion after Mahomes found wide receiver Justin Watson to cut Kansas City’s deficit to 40-14. But books dodged a much larger loss.
“The late 2-point conversion hurt us but we were actually happy they got it because the scorigami would’ve been really bad for us,” Murray said. “We were facing a really big loss on it. The single biggest ticket was only for $50 but there were so many bets on it.
“None of the really wacky ones hit — overtime, safety, scorigami, octopus, doink.”
Eagles backup quarterback Kenny Pickett replaced Super Bowl MVP Jalen Hurts in the final minutes, and bettors celebrated at the SuperBook when Pickett cashed a plus-money prop as the third player to attempt a pass.
Bettors won another popular prop when Pickett knelt down to run out the clock and became the eighth player in the game with a rushing attempt, pushing the total over 7½.
“We did well on the game, but that really hurt,” Murray said.
Defense wins championships, props
Barkley didn’t score on his 28th birthday, but cornerback Cooper DeJean got a pick-6 on his 22nd birthday. The prop for there to be an interception returned for a touchdown paid 6-1. DeJean to score a touchdown paid 9-1 at Station Sports, along with a popular plus-money prop on a defensive touchdown.
“Those were our three worst props of the day, and the successful 2-point conversion, too,” Esposito said. “But overall we did really good on the props.”
Handle down
Bookmakers said the betting handle, or amount wagered, was down compared to last year. Nevada books set a record handle of $185.6 million for the first Super Bowl in Las Vegas in 2024. The Chiefs beat the 49ers 25-22 in overtime.
“It’ll be tough to match last year, when you had the game in town and the California aspect with 49ers fans being involved,” Murray said. “We didn’t have the handle we wanted, but we got a result that was very positive for us.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at [email protected]. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
