Eagles escape to bail out $3M Circa bettor, Survivor entries
For a few seconds Sunday, the Panthers appeared on the cusp of a massive upset of the Eagles.
One that would cost a Circa Sports bettor $3 million and eliminate 11 contestants from Circa Survivor, which pays $14.3 million to the winner.
Carolina, a 14-point underdog, appeared to score a go-ahead touchdown with less than a minute to play when Xavier Legette made a diving catch in the end zone. But Bryce Young’s pass was ruled incomplete as replays showed the ball hit the ground as Legette went down.
Two plays later, the Panthers turned the ball over on downs, and Philadelphia escaped with a 22-16 victory — much to the delight of the Circa bettor who won $428,000 on a money-line wager on the Eagles (-700), and of 11 of the remaining 51 Survivor entries.
Carolina covering the biggest spread of NFL Week 14 was bad for bettors. But it would’ve been worse had it won outright.
“That would’ve been a monumental money-line killer and upset, but he dropped the ball,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “That would’ve really propelled the day, but the Eagles found a way to win.”
Book report
Still, sportsbooks had their best NFL Sunday in weeks as underdogs went 7-4 against the spread with three outright wins by the Jaguars (+3, beat Titans 10-6), Seahawks (+3, beat Cardinals 30-18) and Rams (+3½, beat Bills 44-42).
NFL MVP favorite Josh Allen (-380 at Caesars Sportsbook) became the first player in NFL history with three touchdown passes and three TD runs in a game. But it wasn’t enough to erase a 17-point deficit to Los Angeles, which ended Buffalo’s seven-game winning streak in a game that soared over the total (50) by 36 points.
“In the afternoon slate, all three games went over, and the Bills and Rams were a dream scenario for same-game-parlay players,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.
The South Point sportsbook and Westgate SuperBook swept the board in the three afternoon games behind the upsets by the Seahawks and Rams and cover by the 49ers, who crushed the Bears 38-13 as 3-point favorites.
“It just feels like we haven’t done well on the afternoon slate every week, and today we actually cleaned up,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “Even though the 49ers were favorites, we actually did very well on that game. We had a lot of money come in on the Bears.”
The Seahawks were one of the best games for Caesars.
“They seem to bail the book out of trouble on a weekly basis,” Mucklow said.
The Rams were the best game for Station Sports.
“We normally need a big money-line killer, and that was clearly the Rams (Sunday),” Esposito said. “The biggest game of the day, by a landslide, was getting the Rams to win outright against the Bills. That gave us a real solid day.
“I still think the Bills are the best team in the AFC. We had to score 44 points and still had to sweat at the end of the game. Next week’s game against the Lions could easily be a Super Bowl preview.”
Detroit is a 2½-point home favorite over Buffalo at the Westgate in Sunday’s game.
Good morning for bettors
Bettors did well in the morning, as favorites won six of the seven games.
“Money lines are the story of the NFL season,” Mucklow said, “and this Sunday featured another early slate of games in which the lesser teams had chances late, but ultimately the customers’ faith in the quality teams was again repaid.”
The best games for bettors were the Buccaneers, who beat the Raiders 28-13 and covered as 6½-point favorites after scoring touchdowns on their final two possessions of the game; the Vikings (-6, beat Falcons 42-21); and the Steelers (-6, beat Browns 27-14).
Finish line
Miami overcame eight- and three-point fourth-quarter deficits — tying the Jets on Jason Sanders’ 42-yard field goal with 7 seconds left — before winning 32-26 in overtime to bail out four Survivor entries and countless money-line and teaser bets. The improbable win salvaged a push for some Dolphins bettors, though the line closed at 6½.
“The morning was disappointing because it looked like we were going to really clean up if the Jets beat Miami,” Murray said.
Sportsbooks took a hit on the money line when the Chiefs (-4½) beat the Chargers 19-17 on “Sunday Night Football.” Kansas City won its 15th straight one-score game when Matthew Wright made a 31-yard field goal as time expired that hit the goal post.
“It was a crazy day in pro football,” Esposito said. “The games you think you might win in the end, you lose. The games you think you might lose, you win. And it’s never over till it’s over.”
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.
