A conflicted Philadelphia Eagles fan had a bittersweet Monday after betting against his own team in the wild card round against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
The bettor turned on his Eagles by betting on Tampa Bay’s alternative -13.5 spread. The bet was placed at +750 odds with Philadelphia favored to come away with the win.
In the end, the Buccaneers demoralizingly defeated the Eagles, 32-9, to knock them out of the postseason. This resulted in the fan’s $250 wager turning into a $2,125 payout.
I an [sic] Eagles fan all my life,’ the Bettor said in a text message acquired by BR Betting. ‘But the writing was on the wall.’
Bleacher Report posted a screenshot of the text message and the wager with a photo of a disappointed Eagles fan and wrote: ‘Bet with the head, not the heart.’
The Eagles had a promising first half of their season, winning ten of their first 11 games.
However, they experienced a disastrous turnaround towards the end, dropping five of their last six matches. Their season finale was particularly embarrassing, losing 27-10 to the struggling New York Giants.
Still, with an 11-6 record, Philadelphia managed to secure a second place finish in the NFC East and book a ticket to the playoffs.
During Monday’s loss, the Eagles lacked effort on both sides. While they struggled to secure tackles and gain yardage, the Bucs rallied behind quarterback Baker Mayfield towards victory.
Mayfield completed 26 of 36 attempts for 337 yards and three touchdowns during the blowout.
The fan’s intuition paid off as Tampa Bay’s money line received only 31 per cent of the wagers on BetMGM Sportsbook.
The Buccaneers will take on the Detroit Lions in the divisional round on Sunday.
