Only 6 Circa Survivor entries still alive for $18.7M prize

Circa Survivor started this NFL season with 18,718 entries that paid $1,000 each to create a record football contest prize pool of $18.7 million.

Only six contestants remain in the running for the eight-figure prize entering Week 18 after one entry was eliminated on Christmas Day and three were knocked out Sunday.

“As the season winds down, the excitement of Circa Survivor has heated up,” Circa owner Derek Stevens said in a text message. “Circa Survivor is the largest legal football contest in the world, and this year’s prize could be split between the contestants who survive the final week of the season, or it could go to a single entrant.”

Only five contestants had the Cowboys available on Christmas, which was a separate contest Week 17a, and they survived as Dallas defeated the Commanders 30-23. One entry was eliminated by Washington.

Four entries took the Vikings, who upset the Lions 23-10 as 7½-point underdogs.

One contestant who didn’t have the Cowboys available took Minnesota, then placed a $1,181,000 hedge bet on Dallas on the money line to win $367,222. They won their wager and survived to Week 17b, but their run came to an end Sunday when they and two other entries were eliminated by the Buccaneers, who lost 20-17 to the Dolphins as 5½-point favorites.

Three contestants survived with the Patriots, who whipped the Jets 42-10; two survived with the Bengals, who crushed the Cardinals 37-14; and one hardy soul survived with the Giants, who rolled to a 34-10 rout of the Raiders.

If the six remaining entries survive Week 18, they’ll win $3.1 million each.

Book report

Countless favorite bettors lost money Thursday as underdogs went 3-0 against the spread and on Saturday as underdogs went 2-0 ATS. The holidays weren’t happy for the betting public as NFL favorites went 0-6 ATS on Christmas and Thanksgiving with four outright losses.

“It’s really good for us when we get ’dogs to come in like that, no question,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “I can’t remember a Thanksgiving and Christmas where we got four ’dogs to win outright and all six to cover.

“It’s very different than last year when the end of the season was very chalky down the stretch.”

Favorites went 6-3-1 ATS on Sunday, when the best games for bettors were the Bengals (-7, beat Cardinals 37-14), Giants (-3, beat Raiders 34-10) and Patriots (-13, beat Jets 42-10).

’Dog days

But the public dropped the biggest decision of the day as the Bills’ (-3) comeback from a 13-0 deficit fell short in a 13-12 home loss to the Eagles. The game also stayed way under the total of 45. Buffalo pulled within a point on Josh Allen’s 1-yard touchdown run on fourth down with five seconds left, then decided to go for two and the win. But Allen’s pass sailed out of reach of an open Khalil Shakir in the back of the end zone.

“That was a really good one for us,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “There was money early in the week on the Eagles that got the line down to -1. The late money was all on Buffalo and there was a lot of money on the over. Having the Eagles win and the game go under was the best-case scenario and the best game of the day in the NFL.”

The books also won on the Dolphins and Browns, who upset the Steelers 13-6 as 4-point home underdogs.

“We had a mixed bag of results on the day, with certain underdogs coming through in the morning, including the Dolphins and Browns winning outright,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said. “Customers were the beneficiaries of Joe Burrow and the Bengals offense, who clearly have not quit on the year like some teams that are out of contention.

“In the afternoon, the customers were all over the Giants in the race for the first overall pick in the NFL draft and it was evident that the Raiders wanted that pick much more.”

Books got middled on the Jaguars-Colts game as Jacksonville covered the closing line of -4 in a 23-17 victory but Indianapolis covered the opening number of +6½.

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.