‘Chalk one up for the fans’: Raiders reward bettors, punish books
When Raiders coach Josh McDaniels was fired and quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo was benched this week, sharp money poured into sportsbooks on the Giants. But the betting public in Las Vegas felt a change would do the Raiders good.
Bettors backed them in a big way Sunday under interim coach Antonio Pierce and rookie quarterback Aidan O’Connell, and their faith was rewarded as the Raiders (-1½) rolled to a 30-6 rout of New York at Allegiant Stadium.
The Silver and Black dealt Station Casinos its largest loss of the day and also delivered a big blow to the Westgate SuperBook.
“With the new coach, the new GM and a new kind of atmosphere, everybody was excited to see what they could do,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “They were all over the Raiders.”
After topping 20 points in a game only once this season thanks to a safety, the Raiders stormed to a 24-0 halftime lead and cruised to a cover.
“It feels like the fans felt like they needed a change as well,” SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “They haven’t bet the Raiders in weeks. But they were all over them. Chalk one up for the fans.
“Playing the Giants did have something to do with it, but they totally dominated.”
Favorites went 7-4 against the spread — punctuated by a 24-18 win by the Bengals (-1½) over the Bills on “Sunday Night Football” — as bettors dealt books a rare losing day. (Chiefs-Dolphins closed at pick’em.)
“If the Bengals cover, there’s no doubt it’s going to be a losing day,” Kornegay said beforehand.
The Raiders didn’t bury every book. The South Point and Caesars won on the game, largely because it stayed under the total, which closed at 39.
The Raiders were in position to push the game over with a field goal with 32 seconds left, but they ran the ball on fourth-and-4 and turned it over on downs.
Caesars bettors lost wagers of $110,000 on over 37½ and $110,000 on over 38.
“The Raiders game was huge for us,” Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen said. “We needed the under, so that was big.”
A Caesars bettor also lost a $220,000 wager on the Giants +2.
Philly special
The Eagles (-3) beat the Cowboys 28-23 in another big loss for the books and tough beat for Dallas bettors.
Trailing 28-17, Dak Prescott’s fourth-down pass to to tight end Luke Schoonmaker with 10:10 left was initially ruled a touchdown. But a replay review showed Schoonmaker’s knee was down an inch shy of the goal line, and the TD was overturned.
Prescott then hit Jalen Tolbert for a 7-yard score with 6:23 left to make it 28-23. The QB ran for an apparent 2-point conversion to make it a three-point game, but the replay showed he stepped out of bounds at the 2.
The Cowboys got the ball back at their own 14 with 46 seconds left and promptly got 56 yards of Eagles’ penalties to reach the 6-yard line.
But then Prescott took a sack for an 11-yard loss. After a penalty on the Cowboys pushed them back to the 27, Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for 22 yards, but he was tackled at the 5 to end the game.
“The last half of the fourth quarter was one of the craziest half-quarters I’ve ever seen,” Pullen said. “If you bet Dallas, you should’ve had a better result.”
Favorite things
The Ravens (-6) whipped the Seahawks 37-3, the Browns (-13) crushed the Cardinals 27-0, and the Packers (-3½) pounded the Rams 20-3.
Kansas City, which closed as a 1-point underdog at Circa, kicked off the day with a 21-14 win over Miami in the 6:30 a.m. Pacific time game at Germany. It was the first of nine unders in 12 contests.
The Bears were the biggest winner for the books. They covered as 9-point underdogs in a 24-17 loss to the Saints, who missed a 47-yard field goal with 2:30 left and ran out the clock at the Chicago 6-yard line.
Tough beat
A guy sitting next to me at Red Rock Resort who had a $2,000 ticket on Houston -3 over Tampa Bay was one of countless bettors who suffered a tough beat in the Texans’ 39-37 comeback win.
After Baker Mayfield put Tampa up 37-33 with a 14-yard TD pass to Cade Otton with 46 seconds left, C.J. Stroud drove Houston down the field and threw a 15-yard TD pass to Tank Dell with six seconds remaining.
Bettors needed an extra point to push or 2-point conversion to win. With kicker Ka’imi Fairbairn out with a quadriceps injury, Stroud kneeled instead of attempting the 2-point conversion, crushing the hopes of Texans bettors.
“I don’t really get it. That seemed a little odd,” Esposito said. “I understand not kicking it, but they could’ve at least tried to run it in.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.