Bills stun Vikings in biggest NFL upset in 23 years
Those who thought the Buffalo Bills wouldn’t win a game this season and that Tiger Woods would never win again on the PGA Tour were proved wrong Sunday on both counts.
Rookie quarterback Josh Allen hurdled Vikings linebacker Anthony Barr on his way to lifting the Bills to the biggest NFL upset in 23 years. Buffalo, which closed as a 17-point underdog, whipped Minnesota 27-6.
According to ESPN, the Bills are the largest underdog to pull off an upset since the Washington Redskins beat the Dallas Cowboys 24-17 as 17½-point underdogs in 1995.
NFL favorites of at least 17 points had won 24 straight games before Sunday, when Allen accounted for three touchdowns and Kirk Cousins had three turnovers. Favorites of at least 17 points are now 145-15 straight up in the Super Bowl era.
“That’s the NFL. On any given day, any team can win,” Caesars Entertainment sports book director Bill Sattler said. “Everybody was talking about how the Bills are going to be the next Browns. Not even close.
“Allen is bringing a little different energy to the team. He’s shown some leadership.”
Six figures on Vikings
Most Las Vegas sports books won on the Vikings, who ranged from 18-1 to 20-1 favorites on the money line. An MGM Resorts sports book bettor lost a six-figure money-line wager on Minnesota that would’ve paid $10,000.
A William Hill bettor lost an $18,000 money-line bet on the Vikings that would’ve paid $1,000 and a Westgate sports book bettor lost a $9,000 money-line wager that would’ve paid $450.
“That was our biggest winner of the day,” The Mirage sports book director Jeff Stoneback said. “We had a ton of parlays and teasers on the Vikings and the public was laying the 16½ points with the Vikings.”
William Hill took 255 money-line bets on the Bills at 10-1, with the largest wager $1,000.
The South Point sports book took multiple $1,000 wagers on Buffalo at 11-1 and 12-1.
“It would’ve been better for us if the Vikings had won the game,” South Point sports book director Chris Andrews said.
Underdog day
It was the second straight NFL Sunday that went to the underdogs. A week after seven underdogs won outright, underdogs went 8-6 against the spread with six outright wins.
The Titans beat the Jaguars 9-6 as 10-point underdogs and 4-1 underdogs on the money line. There were 12 two-team Titans-Bills money line parlays that cashed at better than 50-1 odds at William Hill sports books in Nevada.
Six figures on Saints
One MGM Resorts bettor won both a six-figure point-spread wager and a six-figure money-line wager on the Saints in their 43-37 overtime win over the Falcons.
Drew Brees scored on a 7-yard touchdown run to force overtime and won the game with a 1-yard TD run.
“That game was probably our worst game of the season so far,” Stoneback said.
The Saints, who closed as 1½-point underdogs after the line was at 3 most of the week, were the top consensus play in the Westgate SuperContest and SuperContest Gold.
SuperContest consensus
After the consensus top five was winless (0-5) in Week 2, it went 3-2 in Week 3 with wins on the Saints, Seahawks and Ravens and losses on the 49ers and Patriots. The top five is 7-8 this season.
The Gold top five went 4-1 with winners on the Saints, Dolphins, Cardinals and Ravens and a loss on the Niners and is 8-6-1 on the season.
We’re on to Miami
Bettors loaded up on New England, which closed as a 7-point favorite over Detroit, because we all know the Patriots rarely lose two in a row. But they did on upset Sunday, looking as lost as Josh Gordon did on the sidelines during a lifeless 26-10 loss to the Lions.
“It went from a decent day to a great day for the books with the Lions winning outright,” Sattler said.
Tiger ends drought
In keeping with the theme of the day, Woods won the Tour Championship for his first victory in more than five years.
After Tiger shot 65 on Saturday, Westgate golf oddsmaker Jeff Sherman made him the 9-1 favorite to win the 2019 Masters. He also increased Woods’ odds to win his Nov. 23 match against Phil Mickelson from minus 180 to minus 220.
Sherman also had a vested interest in seeing Tiger win again.
“It’s awesome,” he said. “I had a bet with (VSiN host) Pauly Howard. He bet me Guiness for life that he’d never win a tournament again.
“I’m ready to get a couple kegs.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.