Notable bets: Bears' pregame tweet sparks surge of bets on Jets, temporarily angering bettors

A pregame tweet from the Chicago Bears' nationalist relations squad sparked a 45-minute surge of bets connected the New York Jets connected Sunday but turned retired to beryllium inaccurate, causing aggravated bettors to temporarily telephone for refunds and investigations.

With the Bears and Jets facing imaginable backmost changes, the crippled attracted dense betting involvement each week. The Jets began the week arsenic 4.5-point favorites. The enactment held dependable adjacent aft it was announced that Jets backmost Zach Wilson would beryllium benched.

Later successful the week, arsenic skepticism astir the wellness of Bears backmost Justin Fields began to grow, the constituent dispersed ticked up to Jets -7. By Sunday, doubly arsenic overmuch wealth had been stake connected Bears-Jets arsenic immoderate different crippled astatine Caesars Sportsbook, a robust grip that included a $330,000 stake connected the Jets placed midweek.

Then, the infamous tweet took things up a notch.

At 12:11 p.m., 49 minutes anterior to kickoff, the Bears tweeted that third-string backmost Nathan Peterman would get the commencement against the Jets, alternatively of Trevor Siemian. Siemian, who was expected to commencement successful spot of the injured Fields, suffered an oblique wounded during warm-ups and would beryllium relegated to backup, according to the Bears' tweet.

"We each retrieve the crippled [Peterman] played erstwhile helium threw each those picks," Adam Pullen, adjunct manager of trading for Caesars Sportsbook, said Sunday night, recalling Peterman's five-interception crippled successful 2017 with the Buffalo Bills. "When it came implicit that helium was going to play, you're like, 'Oh, boy,' you cognize present comes the Jets money."

Sportsbooks reacted to the announcement by moving the enactment from Jets -7 to -7.5. Bettors reacted by hammering the Jets. Caesars said from the clip of the Bears' tweet to kickoff, 82.8% of the wealth stake connected the game's constituent dispersed was connected the Jets, including a brace of $100,000 bets connected New York -7.5 placed successful Nevada soon aft the announcement. The Borgata, BetMGM and FanDuel besides reported a surge of precocious enactment connected the Jets. But determination was a problem.

Five minutes anterior to kickoff, the Bears told reporters that the starting backmost was present a game-time decision, and Siemian yet trotted retired to instrumentality the opening snap. The bettors who took the Jets based connected Peterman getting the commencement were not pleased and took to Twitter to explicit their concerns. Some called for each bets connected the crippled to beryllium refunded; others wanted the NFL to analyse and good the Bears.

Alex Blasig, a sports bettor and big of the "Real Friends & Football" podcast, told ESPN helium stake the Jets -7.5 arsenic soon arsenic helium saw that Peterman was starting.

"I tried to get -7, but the enactment moved quickly," Blasig said. "[I] figured it would beryllium a bully stake owed to the information that Peterman was astir apt ace constricted successful snaps."

Blasig said helium wouldn't person made the stake if not for the quality of Peterman starting successful spot of Siemian. When shown the tweet from the Bears' PR team, Blasig said, "Wild. They should get fined for that."

The outrage from bettors connected Twitter escalated aft Siemian threw a touchdown walk to Byron Pringle to springiness the Bears a 10-7 pb aboriginal successful the 2nd quarter. The calls for refunds and investigations quieted down successful the 2nd half, arsenic backmost Mike White helped the Jets propulsion distant to an casual 31-10 victory.

"I decidedly would've been ace upset if the Bears ended up covering," Blasig added.

Siemian told reporters helium strained his oblique successful pregame warm-ups and went backmost to the locker country for treatment. Bears manager Matt Eberflus added that Peterman was acceptable to spell if needed.

Multiple sportsbooks said they suffered a tiny nonaccomplishment connected the game, with the bulk of the wealth connected the Jets. It's the latest pregame play that has caused important enactment question and near bettors and bookmakers frustrated.

Ahead of a Week 3 crippled betwixt the Jacksonville Jaguars and Los Angeles Chargers, a video committee astatine SoFi Stadium showed a representation of backup Chase Daniel arsenic the Chargers' starting quarterback. Justin Herbert ended up starting. And 3 weeks ago, Bills backmost Josh Allen didn't look successful pregame warm-ups until late, earlier starting against the Minnesota Vikings.

"We're astatine the mercy of accusation similar everyone else," Pullen said. "If the squad says it, you person to deliberation that it's legit. We've seen it hap rather a fewer times, and it's going to hap adjacent more. Social media and each the different avenues of accusation that we have, it conscionable takes 1 small happening and radical enactment connected that information. But if the squad puts it out, however are you not expected to judge that it's true?"

NFL notables

• The astir communal statement of the Thanksgiving play from sportsbooks was "busy." On apical of accepted NFL, assemblage shot and vacation assemblage hoops tournaments, determination was World Cup action.

"It felt similar determination was shot from 2 a.m. to 12 a.m. [Thursday]," Craig Mucklow, vice president of trading for Caesars, said.

Mucklow said the New York Giants-Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots-Minnesota Vikings games generated monolithic betting handle, with each ranking successful the apical 10 astir heavy stake games of the play truthful far.

John Murray, enforcement manager astatine the SuperBook astatine Westgate Las Vegas, echoed those sentiments. Murray said his sportsbook did much concern connected Giants-Cowboys and Patriots-Vikings than connected immoderate of the Sunday games. He described Sunday's NFL enactment arsenic "very debased energy."

"I deliberation radical were wiped retired from the vacation weekend," Murray said. "Between the World Cup, the assemblage hoops tournaments, assemblage shot rivalry games and the NFL, I can't accidental I blasted them."

• Two outright upsets successful the aboriginal slate buoyed a winning Sunday for respective sportsbooks.

"The 2 champion results of the time for the publication came successful the 2 closes games, with the Bucs falling successful OT to the Browns and the Jags overcoming the Ravens successful breathtaking manner astatine the death," Kevin Lawler, caput of trading for PointsBet, said.

The Jaguars converted a go-ahead two-point conversion with 14 seconds near successful a 28-27 triumph implicit the favored Baltimore Ravens. The last-minute triumph produced 1 of the biggest swings of the time astatine sportsbook PointsBet, wherever 94% of the wealth that was wagered connected the wealth enactment -- the likelihood to triumph the crippled consecutive up -- was connected the Ravens.

• Caesars described Sunday's results arsenic "decent." The champion games for bettors were the Kansas City Chiefs covering the 15-point dispersed successful 26-10 triumph implicit the Los Angeles Rams and San Francisco 49ers covering the 9-point dispersed successful a 13-0 triumph implicit the New Orleans Saints.

"All the large favorites won, and each those teasers added up," Pullen said. "A batch of teaser money, particularly present successful Nevada, came successful and got determination beauteous easily."

• Mike White started astatine backmost for the Jets, successful spot of Zach Wilson, against the Bears. In a dependable rain, White completed 22 of 28 passes for 315 yards with 3 touchdowns and nary interceptions successful the 31-10 win. At Mojo, a sports betting level that allows customers to bargain and merchantability shares based connected vocation statistical performances, White's banal accrued by 29%, from $3.01 to $3.89, connected Sunday. Wilson's banal dropped 26%, from $29.68 to $21.96, implicit the past week.

• Week 13 opening lines [via Caesars Sportsbook]:
Bills -5.5, 45.5 astatine Patriots (Thursday)
Jets astatine Vikings -3, 42
Broncos astatine Ravens -6.5, 41.5
Steelers astatine Falcons -1, 42
Titans astatine Eagles -6.5, 45
Jaguars astatine Lions PK, 51
Commanders -1.5, 42.5 astatine Giants
Browns -5, 44 astatine Texans
Packers -2.5, 44 astatine Bears
Seahawks -3 (even) 43 astatine Rams
Dolphins astatine 49ers -4.5, 46
Chargers -3, 48.5 astatine Raiders
Chiefs -3, 51 astatine Bengals
Colts astatine Cowboys -9.5, 44.5
Saints astatine Buccaneers -6.5, 42 (Monday)

College shot notables

• The betting enactment connected Michigan-Ohio State was dense and highly balanced astatine astir sportsbooks. A fewer hours anterior to the noon kickoff astatine Caesars Sportsbook, the wealth wagered and the fig of bets were practically dormant even. The communicative was a small antithetic astatine WynnBET, wherever a bettor successful New Jersey connected Friday placed what the publication said was the largest assemblage shot stake of the play -- $735,535 connected Ohio State to triumph the crippled consecutive up astatine -310 odds.

The enactment was a small antithetic astatine WynnBET, acknowledgment to a $753,535 money-line stake connected the Buckeyes that was placed Friday by a bettor successful New Jersey. That wealth volition beryllium staying with the house, arsenic the underdog Wolverines rolled to a 45-23 upset.

Michigan present has the second-best nationalist title odds:
Georgia -160
Michigan +280
TCU +1,200
USC +1,200
Ohio State +1,400
Alabama +2,500 [Caesars]

• Opening league title crippled lines [via Westgate SuperBook]

Friday
CUSA: North Texas astatine UTSA -8.5, 66.5
Pac-12: Utah vs. USC -1, 67

Saturday
Big 12: Kansas State vs. TCU -2.5, 61.5
MAC: Toledo -3.5, 61 vs. Ohio
Sun Belt: Coastal Carolina vs. Troy -9.5, 47.5
AAC: Central Florida astatine Tulane -3, 57
MWC: Fresno State astatine Boise State -4.5, 50.5
SEC: LSU vs. Georgia -15, 50.5
ACC: Clemson -7.5, 60 vs. North Carolina
Big Ten: Purdue vs. Michigan -16.5, 50.5

• Regular-season betting stats:
Favorites went 630-200 consecutive up (.759).
Underdogs went 429-399-13 against the dispersed (.525).
There were 410 overs, 414 unders and 14 pushes.
[h/t ESPN Stats & Information researcher Jeremy Willis]

Odds & Ends

• College basketball: PointsBet connected Wednesday reported taking a $20,000 money-line stake connected American University to bushed Georgetown astatine +850 odds. American won 74-70, and the bettor won a nett $170,000.

• World Cup: More wealth was stake connected Friday's U.S.-England lucifer than immoderate different World Cup lucifer truthful acold astatine aggregate sportsbooks. The magnitude wagered connected U.S.-England astatine Caesars Sportsbook was comparable to a "high-end NBA oregon assemblage shot game."

The U.S. is simply a tiny favourite implicit Iran successful a must-win lucifer Tuesday. The U.S. is listed arsenic a -103 favourite to win, with Iran +300. The lucifer ending successful a gully is +230 astatine Caesars Sportsbook.