Majority of Proline bettors supported Bills, Commanders in conference finals

The vast majority of Proline bettors did not see a Super Bowl matchup between the Kansas City Chiefs and Philadelphia Eagles.

According to the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp., both the Chiefs and Eagles were underdogs in their respective conference finals, a surprise given Kansas City was the top seed in the AFC and Philadelphia was the top remaining NFC seed at No. 2 with the top-ranked Detroit Lions having been upset in the divisional round. 600 words.

Philadelphia advanced to its second Super Bowl in three years by downing Washington 55-23 in the NFC championship game. But just 30 per cent of Proline players backed the Eagles win and only 30 per cent had them at -5.5 on the point spread.

But 29 per cent had Philadelphia's Saquon Barkley as the first TD scorer and 49 per cent had him as the Eagles' anytime TD Scorer along with A.J. Brown (19 per cent) and Jalen Hurts (eight per cent).

Thirty per cent had Terry McLaurin as an anytime TD scorer for Washington with 11 per cent backing Jayden Daniels

Two specials for the game that came through for bettors were each team scoring a rushing and passing TD and 300-plus total combined rushing yards.

Kansas City kept its quest for a historic third straight Super Bowl crown intact with a 32-29 home win over Buffalo. But just 34 per cent of Proline players correctly picked the Chiefs to win and the same percentage had them -1.5 on the point spread.

Just four per cent of players had Kansas City's Kareem Hunt as an anytime TD scorer while 13 per cent had him as Chiefs anytime TD scorer. Others were Xavier Worthy (15 per cent) and Patrick Mahomes (11 per cent).

Twenty-five per cent backed James Cooks as Bills anytime TD scorer compared to one per cent for Mack Hollins and less than one per cent for Curtis Samuel. Each team scoring a rushing and passing TD was the special hit in this contest.

Several props hit during Sunday's NFL championship round, including more than 15 total touchdowns scored, successful two-point conversions in both games, a rushing touchdown from each team, and all four starting quarterbacks throwing for at least 225 yards.

Kansas City will face Philadelphia in the Super Bowl on Feb. 9 in New Orleans. The early numbers have 64 per cent of bettors backing the Chiefs.

In NHL action, the Ottawa Senators edged the Toronto Maple Leafs on Saturday night. Just 20 per cent of players backed the Senators victory while 16 per cent had them at +1.5.

And only four per cent had the under at 5.5 goals.

Elsewhere, a solid 88 per cent backed the Edmonton Oilers' 3-2 victory over the Buffalo Sabres while 31 per cent of bettors supported the New Jersey Devils' 4-3 overtime victory over the Montreal Canadiens. And 27 per cent of bettors backed the Calgary Flames' 5-4 decision over the Minnesota Wild and 26 per cent correctly predicted the Vancouver Canucks' 2-1 victory over the Washington Capitals.

And in the NBA, the Toronto Raptors downed the Atlanta Hawks 117-94 on Saturday. But only 39 per cent of players predicted the Raptors victory and only 23 per cent had them +5.5 on the point spread.

A Proline digital player won $7,043.40 from a $25 bet on a five-pick NBA parlay. Another turned a $5 wager on a successful seven-pick hockey and football parlay into $1,010.66.

A Proline retail player received $4,267.50 from a $5 wager on an eight-pick UEFA Champions League parlay. A second earned $1,692.80 from a $5 bet on an eight-pick hockey and football parlay.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 29, 2025.

The Canadian Press