The Pittsburgh Steelers were able to cruise to a relatively worry-free victory over the Cincinnati Bengals on Saturday to keep their postseason hopes alive. However, not every player on the Steelers had a great day. And one sportsbook cashed in on this in a huge way.
Steelers tight end Pat Freiermuth came into the game with an over/under on receiving yards set at 28.5 yards on BetMGM Sportsbook.
Fans overwhelmingly thought that he would go over this receiving yards prop against the Bengals. In fact, according to BetMGM data analyst John Ewing, 99% of bettors who placed a wager on this number decided to bet on him to go over.
Pat Freiermuth receiving yards prop at @BetMGM
26.5 yards – Open
28.5 yards – Now
99% of bets are on the OVER. pic.twitter.com/AIHL4w1W9v
— John Ewing (@johnewing) December 23, 2023
The Steelers offense had a fantastic day against the Bengals, totaling over 400 yards of total offense. Steelers quarterback Mason Rudolph had perhaps the best game of his career, throwing for 290 yards and two touchdowns in the win.
With this in mind, you would assume that Freiermuth would have had a great day and paid out those who bet on this receiving yards bet.
However, that was not the case at all. The veteran tight end was held without a single target in the game, leading to some very upset bettors taking to social media to voice their frustrations about his performance.
Pat Freiermuth: Can you please throw me the ball?
Mason Rudolph: #HereWeGo— Brett Bosse (@BetsWithBrett) December 23, 2023
My kids going to JUCO instead of Harvard cuz of Pat Freiermuth. Insane. https://t.co/nvj7c5YUeV pic.twitter.com/PQSea3edmp
— Bryson Stricker (@BryBryStrick) December 23, 2023
Pat Freiermuth still waiting on a pass like pic.twitter.com/N7j1GKpfGJ
— Frick (@joefrk) December 23, 2023
Raise your hand if you were personally victimized by Pat Freiermuth tonight what in the world??
— kenny (@kiiLkenny) December 24, 2023
Pat Freiermuth trying to be a part of the Steelers offense tonight. pic.twitter.com/lY8htHVJbK
— Michael Hauff (@TheFFRealist) December 23, 2023
Bettors were clearly upset with Freiermuth’s lack of involvement in the offense. But Freiermuth was far less bothered by it, expressing as much in his postgame press conference.
“I could care less about my stat line,” said Freiermuth via Brian Batko of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. “Me personally, I knew early on they weren’t going to let me get anything with how they were playing.”
Do you think Steelers TE Pat Freiermuth gets it? He was all smiles after a game he had 0 for 0 on 0 targets, but it was a win vs. Bengals: "I could care less about my stat line. Me, personally, I knew early on they weren't going to let me get anything with how they were playing."
— Brian Batko (@BrianBatko) December 24, 2023
About Reice Shipley
Reice Shipley is a staff writer for Comeback Media that graduated from Ithaca College with a degree in Sports Media. He previously worked at Barrett Sports Media and is a fan of all things Syracuse sports.