NFL Playoffs Mean Plethora Of Betting Promotions At Michigan Sportsbooks
Time to get wild. The NFL postseason kicks off Saturday with its slate of Wild Card games. The 3-13-1 season for the Detroit Lions, while entertaining, didn’t earn a berth.
But Lions fans have already won: They can ride that last-game glow until draft day AND choose a team or three to root for until September comes. Or at least until February. Who could ask for anything more?
If we learned anything in Week 18, it’s that there’s no such thing as a sure thing this season. With a month to go until Super Bowl LVI kicks off Feb. 13 in Los Angeles, we’re here to help. Read on for recent NFL betting promos in Michigan and a few ideas for teams to wager on.
Michigan sportsbooks using playoffs for promotion season
Here are some offers available now, though most are for new customers requiring fresh accounts and initial deposits. Expect more NFL-specific bets to come into play as the playoffs progress.
BetMGM Sportsbook: Bet $25 for each game, get $50 for MNF
For the first time, the NFL playoffs will be on Monday Night Football.
BetMGM Sportsbook is rewarding loyal customers this weekend with a free $50 bet for it.
The book is offering a free $50 bet for the Rams/Cardinals game if you bet $25 on any market for each of the weekend’s first five playoff games.
As always, check out the Ts&Cs and this requires an opt-in too.
DraftKings Sportsbook: Hammer the Over on Bills/Patriots
At DraftKings Sportsbook, a new-user promotion gives players a chance to win $280 in free bets on a $5 pre-game moneyline bet. The winnings are paid out in seven $40 free bets that must be used within seven days.
There’s also a Hammer the Over promotion for the New England vs. Buffalo game where every 5,000 bettors that take advantage and bet the over will win a -110 bet. We have found the maximum value of the bet fluctuates throughout the country, but you should take what you can get there.
FanDuel Sportsbook: Wild Card weekend same game parlays bonus
FanDuel Sportsbook is giving away a Same Game Parlay Bonus for Wild Card weekend. Place $20 or more cumulative same game parlay wagers for any NFL Wild Card Playoff game from Jan. 15 to Jan. 17, get bonus site credit added to account. Wagers must have three or more legs with final odds of +400 or longer to qualify. After the qualifying $20 of bets, a graduating level of site credit is awarded, culminating in $100 in site credit for $200 or more in same game parlay bets.
Packers, Chiefs situated as Super Bowl favorites
Oddsmakers are calling the Green Bay Packers and Kansas City Chiefs the Super Bowl favorites. But here is a look at Michigan-friendly teams that have either some emotional pull, or the best shot to move on this week and possibly win it all.
NFC teams to ponder as the NFL playoffs open
Remember when the Super Bowl favorites lost to the Lions, 37-30, in entertaining fashion during Week 18? Sure, the long-haired starting slinger sat half the game, but his team lost. To spare the collective mental health of Michigan readers and preserve that memory, then, we have nothing else to say about the 13-4 Packers until they take on either the Bucs or the Eagles in Round 2.
(OK, but they’re the favorites so people would understand if one chose that wagering route).
Another Decent Bet: No. 2 seed Tampa Bay Bucs (13-4)
We should not have to explain this pick, but Tom Brady. You know, the Michigan man with a decent ring collection. Brady and his No. 2-seed Bucs face the Philadelphia Eagles on Sunday at home.
Despite injuries and Antonio Brown, the Bucs are +450 to win it all at FanDuel. Injuries have plagued both sides of the ball for Tampa Bay, including losing Chris Godwin for the season. Coach Bruce Arians said he expects running back Leonard Fournette and outside linebackers Shaquil Barrett and Jason Pierre-Paul to play Sunday, so that helps.
A Legit Threat: No. 4 seed Los Angeles Rams (12-5)
We should also not have to explain this pick, but Matthew Stafford. Our friend Stafford has struggled with interceptions this season and now will nurse a toe injury suffered in the 27-24 OT season finale loss to the Niners.
Coach Sean McVay, however, said he expects Stafford to play against the No. 5 seed Arizona Cardinals (11-6) during Monday Night Football. Michiganders know Stafford can stay strong, and Los Angeles bounced back from a mid-season slump by winning five of its last six games. The teams traded road victories against each other this year. The Rams were favored Wednesday by 3.5 points at DraftKings and 10-to-1 odds to win the Super Bowl in their home stadium.
Longshot: No. 6 seed San Francisco 49ers (10-7)
Well, if you liked our previous pick than you probably didn’t pull for the Niners to win last week against Stafford and Co. And maybe don’t want to pull for them now, but their scrappy style must not be ignored. Besides, at least it was former Michigan player Ambry Thomas who intercepted Stafford to end the game. The Niners face tough competition in the No. 3-seeded Cowboys (12-5) in Dallas.
San Francisco won four of its last five. Quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo played through a thumb injury and still completed more than 70 percent of his throws for the third straight game. Detroiters celebrate that kind of tough so rooting for San Fran feels OK, plus they have seven players on the roster who played college ball here. The Niners are 3-point underdogs against the Cowboys at DraftKings and have 20-to-1 odds to win the Lombardi.
AFC teams to ponder as the NFL playoffs open
Like the Packers, the No. 1-seeded Tennessee Titans (12-5) will enjoy a bye week to open their third consecutive postseason trip. The Titans have home-field advantage throughout the AFC and will next host either the Chiefs or Pittsburgh Steelers in Round 2. With odds ranging from +750 to +850 at Michigan sportsbooks, the Titans would make a strong Super Bowl bet – especially if the stiff-arming Derrick Henry returns from his foot injury in time.
Another Decent Bet: No. 2 seed Kansas City Chiefs (12-5)
Kansas City started the season on a sputter, dropping four of its first seven games, before going on a tear after losing in Nashville in Week 7. They almost swept the rest of the schedule, until Joe Burrow and the Bengals snatched a late win in Week 17. A Chiefs’ wager feels like a good gamble, plus former Michigan man Chad Henne still backs up Patrick Mahomes.
In addition to being everyone’s favorite State Farm actor (besides Jake, of course), Mahomes continues to dominate. It almost seems like a no-brainer that the Chiefs will defeat the Steelers in Kansas City for the second time this season. Almost. But as we told you before, “…never count out a team led by head coach Mike Tomlin.”
That said, the Chiefs were 12.5-point favorites over the Steelers at BetMGM Sportsbook and this close behind the Packers as favorites to win the Super Bowl.
A Legit Threat: No. 4 Cincinnati Bengals (10-7)
While Cincinnati has historically have seen more postseason action than the Lions, a Bengals playoff run could evoke the same level of excitement that will occur when Detroit wins the Super Bowl in 2023. Cincinnati had five straight losing seasons from 2016 to 2021 and owns the longest active playoff-win-drought in the league, dating back to 1990. (Yes, of course it’s the Lions that have the second-longest streak from 1991).
Rooting for the Ohioans also makes sense in the wagering world because here in 2022, the Bengals have a legitimate shot.
Burrow has led his team to a division title AND a victory against the Chiefs in Week 17. The Bengals host the Las Vegas Raiders, who will either feel energized or tired after starring in Sunday night’s instant classic against the Chargers. The Bengals are a 5.5-point favorite for Saturday’s postseason opener.
Longshot: No. 7 seed Pittsburgh Steelers (9-7-1)
The Steelers have not looked great this season, but still delivered a winning record for the 15th consecutive season under coach Mike Tomlin.
Ben Roethlisberger has struggled all season, even in the team’s recent victories. But sometimes football games come down to the things we can’t measure. Everyone knows this is likely it for the 39-year-old quarterback. Maybe he musters up one last gutsy showing in Kansas City. Maybe Tomlin will out-prepare Chiefs coach Andy Reid. Either way, victory is not guaranteed for the Chiefs, even if it looks that way on paper.
So, for those who don’t want to take the favorites, we humbly present our fellow gritty city pals for your longshot bet. The Steelers are 12.5-point underdogs with odds ranging from 60-to-1 to 90-to-1 to win the Super Bowl.
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