There are few feelings quite as crushing as missing a parlay by one pick, especially in Week 1 of the NFL season. Instead of starting the year by cashing in on a big ticket, you are left wondering what could have been.
Well, DraftKings Sportsbook offered a Ghost Leg promotion on Sunday, giving bettors a chance to turn a miss into a hit. Whoever used the promotion was able to effectively erase one leg that lost in an NFL Week 1 parlay, Same Game Parlay or SGPx that had three legs or more. The bet was then recalculated based only on the winning legs, resulting in big paydays for hundreds of thousands of customers. (See more here.)
The Ghost Leg wound up saving 160.5k parlays that would have lost without the token. A handful of the customers who benefited from the assist shared their near-misses-turned-hits on social media, and we’ve compiled some of the more interesting ones here.
Jonathan Taylor Forgiven For Failing to Score
The Colts were feeding Jonathan Taylor early, with his first carry of the afternoon bringing them inside the 10-yard line. That drive ended in a field goal, but he got 49 yards on eight touches over a 10-play stretch the next time Indianapolis got the ball.
Unfortunately for anyone who was banking on Taylor finding the end zone, Daniel Jones proceeded to dial one up to Michael Pittman Jr. shortly after for the first touchdown of the contest. Taylor rode the bench for the most of the second half, ceding carries to DJ Giddens as the Colts closed out their 33-8 blowout victory over the Miami Dolphins. Despite racking up 98 yards from scrimmage, Taylor didn’t find paydirt.
Bijan Robinson and Chase Brown, meanwhile, went on to become first touchdown scorers in their own games, as predicted by the DraftKings Sportsbook customer who shared their parlay on X below. Whiffing on Taylor as a first touchdown scorer didn’t sink their parlay, though, and they still turned $2.00 into $57.50 thanks to the Ghost Leg token and +2775 adjusted odds.
Patriots Nearly Spoiled 8-Leg ML Parlay
One DraftKings Sportsbook customer started off Sunday on the right foot, correctly picking the Cincinnati Bengals to beat the Cleveland Browns and the Arizona Cardinals to beat the New Orleans Saints. The New England Patriots failing to recover an onside kick, and losing to the Las Vegas Raiders broke up the eight-leg parlay of moneyline bets.
But this bettor’s day wasn’t done just yet, since the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and Jacksonville Jaguars added on wins in the early window. The Denver Broncos, San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams all eked out tight victories in the late window, bringing the parlay to 7-for-8. Because this bettor used the Ghost Leg, they got credit for going 7-for-7, picking up a $565.04 payout on a $30.00 wager.
Mark Andrews Letdown Wiped Out
Sunday Night Football was more than just a postseason rematch and showdown between two presumptive MVP candidates – it was also a gold mine for bettors who leaned on the overs.
One DraftKings Sportsbook bettor saw the 41-40 shootout coming, going all-in on a handful of superstars on both the Buffalo Bills and Baltimore Ravens. They correctly picked both Lamar Jackson and Josh Allen to clear 250 passing plus rushing yards, Allen to record at least 25 rushing yards, Zay Flowers to hit 40 receiving yards, Derrick Henry to rush for 70+ and both Henry and Dalton Kincaid to score a touchdown. There was one hole in their parlay, as Mark Andrews failed to reach 25 receiving yards.
Andrews got one catch for five yards on just one target, so the Ravens’ gameplan spoiled this bettor’s chances of going 8-for-8 on his parlay. But instead of seeing the whole parlay busted, the Ghost Leg token made it so vip still won $280.00 on a $10.00 wager.
