Ravens’ loss gives Las Vegas sportsbooks ‘biggest win’ of season

The Baltimore Ravens’ nightmare was the bookmakers’ dream Saturday, producing what one sportsbook director called “our biggest win of the season in football.”

The AFC’s No. 1 seed fell behind and never got on track in a 28-12 loss to the No. 6 seed Tennessee Titans in the divisional playoffs. The Titans closed as plus 400 underdogs and easily covered the 10-point spread. The game stayed under 47½.

The Ravens’ loss killed off tons of the ever popular money-line parlays tied to favorites. Some sportsbook directors had feared the possibility of parlay liability piling up over the weekend with the San Francisco 49ers, Ravens and Kansas City Chiefs tied to Louisiana State in Monday’s College Football Playoff title game.

The Ravens also garnered heavy live betting action after falling behind 14-0.

“That was our biggest win of the season in football,” Westgate sportsbook director John Murray said via text message. “So many money-line parlays to the Ravens. In-game chasing on the Ravens. And a lot of over bets. Home run for the books around town.”

On the field, the loss will reverberate throughout the NFL playoffs. The Ravens (14-2 in the regular season) were the Super Bowl favorites, dominating most opponents behind presumed MVP quarterback Lamar Jackson. They were consensus minus 500 favorites to beat the Titans, who were coming off a 20-13 upset of the New England Patriots in the wild-card round.

Now, the winner of Sunday’s game between the Houston Texans and Chiefs in Kansas City will host the AFC championship game next week against Tennessee. The Chiefs are 9½-point favorites against Houston, with a total of 51½.

Titans running back Derrick Henry ran wild against Baltimore, amassing 195 yards on 30 carries, more than doubling his prop number of 94½. He also threw a touchdown pass.

In catch-up mode throughout the game, Jackson also easily surpassed his prop totals, throwing for 365 yards and rushing for 143. His projected totals were 210½ and 76½.

49ers victorious

Saturday’s NFC game was mostly devoid of drama, as the rested No. 1 seed San Francisco 49ers wore down the No. 6 Minnesota Vikings in a 27-10 victory. The game stayed under 44½.

The 49ers, coming off a bye, led 14-10 at halftime but pulled away in the second half against the Vikings, who were on a short week after playing last Sunday.

San Francisco will host next week’s NFC championship game against the winner of Sunday’s Seattle Seahawks at Green Bay Packers game. The Packers are 4- to 4½-point favorites, with a total of 45½.

Jim Barnes can be reached at jbarnes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @JimBarnesLV on Twitter.