Divisions are paramount in the NFL, since every division winner is guaranteed a home game in the postseason. The pressure of the guaranteed playoff berth — as well as the fact that all teams within a division play each other both home and away every season — has produced plenty of intense rivalries and can’t-miss games.
For a team to win a division is one thing; some, like the Kansas City Chiefs in the AFC West, win it pretty much every year. But for a bettor to predict all eight divisions correctly is another thing altogether.
Every NFL season, DraftKings Sportsbook is your No. 1 place to bet division winner parlays. This season, one bettor turned a $100 wager into more than $163,000 and had their “Crowning Moment” after predicting all eight division winners correctly.
A Parlay Bet is a bet placed on multiple outcomes to occur. Any Parlay Bet cashes when all outcomes within the parlay are selected correctly. You can learn more about how they work in the DraftKings Sportsbook How To Bet guide!
In this case, the bettor selected the Los Angeles Rams, Detroit Lions, Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Philadelphia Eagles, Kansas City Chiefs, Baltimore Ravens, Houston Texans, and Buffalo Bills to top their respective divisions.
The first leg of the bettor’s parlay cashed on December 1, when the Bills clinched the AFC East title with a 35-10 win over the San Francisco 49ers. With the victory — which took place amid heavy snow at home — Buffalo improved to 10-2, five games ahead of the Miami Dolphins, who they swept the season series with. The Bills ended up finishing 13-4 and clinched the second seed in the AFC, and quarterback Josh Allen emerged as the MVP favorite after a season in which he completed 63.6% of his passes for 3,731 yards, 28 touchdowns, and six interceptions.
The second team to clinch was the Chiefs, who did so after a 19-17 win over the Los Angeles Chargers on December 8. Kansas City had already sewn up a playoff berth on November 29, but Los Angeles still could have pipped it to the division title. However, the Chiefs’ win brought them to 12-1, out of reach of their division rivals. Kansas City ended up finishing 15-2, claiming the top seed in the AFC and a first-round bye in the postseason, and they have the second-shortest odds to win the Super Bowl despite a season in which they looked shaky at times.
Houston was the next team to secure their division title, topping the AFC South for the second consecutive season by beating the Miami Dolphins, 20-12, in Week 15 to improve to 9-5. Despite battling injuries all season — top receiver Nico Collins missed five weeks with a hamstring injury and wideout Stefon Diggs suffered a season-ending torn ACL — the Texans were relatively unchallenged in the AFC South, which had the worst combined winning percentage in football. Houston ultimately finished 10-7, although it is in poor form entering the playoffs and is a home underdog to the Chargers in the Wild Card Round.
The next two legs both cashed on December 29.
The Philadelphia Eagles came first, routing the Dallas Cowboys, 41-7, during the early afternoon slate. Philadelphia’s victory brought its record to 13-3, two games ahead of the Washington Commanders, who had beaten it the week before to delay its coronation. The Eagles’ win also secured the second seed in the NFC. Philadelphia’s postseason run — which will begin with a matchup against the seventh-seeded Green Bay Packers in the Wild Card Round on Sunday — is heavily dependent on running back Saquon Barkley, who posted the eighth 2,000-yard rushing season in league history.
Then, on Sunday Night Football, Washington’s 30-24 overtime victory over the Atlanta Falcons helped the Rams clinch the NFC West. Because the Seattle Seahawks had beaten Atlanta, 34-14, in Week 7, the Falcons’ loss ensured that Los Angeles would win the strength-of-victory tiebreaker over the Seahawks. As it turns out, the Rams needed it, because after losing to Seattle in Week 18 while resting its starters, Los Angeles only edged out the Seahawks by virtue of the tiebreaker.
The final three divisions came down to the final week.
The Ravens were the first to clinch, claiming the AFC North crown on January 4 with a 35-10 blowout over the Cleveland Browns, who had long been eliminated from postseason contention and started fourth-string quarterback Bailey Zappe. Although Baltimore didn’t look particularly convincing in the victory — it had to re-insert quarterback Lamar Jackson and running back Derrick Henry in the fourth quarter after Cleveland scored with 11 minutes, 33 seconds remaining to cut the deficit to 11 — the win ensured that it would finish at least one game ahead of the Pittsburgh Steelers, who wound up losing their Week 18 game to the Cincinnati Bengals and will face the Ravens in the Wild Card Round on Saturday.
Then, the next day, Tampa Bay clinched the NFC South in memorable fashion, with a comeback, 27-19 victory over the New Orleans Saints. The Buccaneers trailed for most of the game and didn’t take their first lead until 10 minutes, nine seconds remained in the contest, when wide receiver Jalen McMillan caught a 32-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Baker Mayfield. With a loss and a Falcons win over the Carolina Panthers, Atlanta would have claimed the division, but Tampa Bay’s victory put the division beyond doubt. As it turns out, it wouldn’t have mattered, as the Panthers ended up beating the Falcons in overtime.
With the first seven legs secured, it all came down to Sunday Night Football, when the Lions faced the Minnesota Vikings in a battle for the NFC North. The game was close in the first half, but late in the third quarter, Detroit pulled away with a 10-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Jared Goff to running back Jahmyr Gibbs to open up an eight-point lead. Vikings kicker Will Reichard’s missed field goal on the ensuing possession took all of the air out of Minnesota’s sails, and the Lions ended up scoring two unanswered touchdowns in the fourth quarter to secure a 31-9 victory and the NFC’s No. 1 seed, earning the bettor a $163,000 payday.
You can have your own Crowning Moment by building a division winner parlay for next season on DraftKings Sportsbook, like this bettor did. Otherwise, players can center their picks around a week’s slate of games, building parlays around certain players or predicting first touchdown scorers, anytime touchdown scorers, and many other player props. You can also select winners against the spread or straight-up on the moneyline.
Additionally, you can blend multiple picks from the same game into a Same Game Parlay (SGP) or mix them together from multiple games. You can even combine picks from multiple sports to create massive SGPx (Same Game Parlay Extra). Head on over to the Sportsbook and find just the right picks to put on your betting card today!
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All odds provided by DraftKings Sportsbook and all odds subject to change.
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I am a promoter at DraftKings and am also an avid fan and user and may sometimes play on my personal account in the games that I offer advice on. Although I have expressed my personal view on the games and strategies above, they do not necessarily reflect the view(s) of DraftKings and do not constitute a representation that any particular strategy will guarantee success. All customers should use their own skill and judgment in building lineups. I may also deploy different players and strategies than what I recommend above. I am not an employee of DraftKings and do not have access to any non-public information.
