Favorites fail NFL bettors; Ravens rescue Circa Survivor entrants

The betting public had a nice run the last two weeks, as NFL favorites went 20-8 against the spread.

But that hot streak came to an end Sunday when underdogs went 7-4-1 ATS with five outright wins.

“It was one of our better Sundays over the last four to six weeks,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “We swept the board in the afternoon.”

That’s when the Bills (+1½) outlasted the Chiefs 20-17, the Broncos (+3) whipped the Chargers 24-7, the 49ers (-14½) beat the Seahawks 28-16 but didn’t cover, and the Vikings (-3) beat the Raiders 3-0 in the lowest-scoring NFL game in 16 years.

It was the first time since 1988 that two NFL games (Raiders-Vikings and Jets-Texans) were scoreless at halftime on the same day.

“It’s like waiting for a bus,” quipped Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow.

The no touchdown scored prop was 100-1 at the Westgate SuperBook. But nobody bet it.

“Not one dollar on it,” SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said.

Minnesota finally broke the scoreless tie on Greg Joseph’s 36-yard field goal with 1:57 left. After Aidan O’Connell threw an interception, the Vikings lined up for an apparent 45-yard field goal try with 18 seconds left.

But Joseph went with a pooch punt instead, and most bettors settled for a push.

“We needed the Vikings,” Esposito said. “There was some money on the Raiders +3, but a lot of money-line action and even +2½ on the Raiders.”

Mucklow said Caesars lost about $100 on the game overall.

“We completely broke even,” he said. “The under was a big winner.”

The biggest winners for the books were the Bears (+3, beat Lions 28-13), Jets (+3, beat Texans 30-6) and Rams, who covered as 7½-point underdogs in a 37-31 overtime loss to the Ravens.

Survive and advance

The Circa Survivor field is down to 21 still in the running for the $9.2 million prize after eight entries were eliminated by the Steelers on Thursday and another lost on the Lions. Seven have the Packers on Monday night, and one has the Dolphins.

One $1,000 entry survived with the Vikings, and eight sweated the Ravens profusely, including Las Vegas showman Kenny Davidsen.

He and two of his contest partners debated whether to take Baltimore or Green Bay, a 6-point road favorite over the Giants.

“Our partner adamantly wanted Green Bay, and me and our other partner wanted Baltimore,” Davidsen said. “We’ve been taking home teams, and I just really felt that this was the way to go. But man, I was regretting that the whole day.”

The Ravens trailed 20-17 at halftime and 28-23 with 1:16 left before Lamar Jackson fired a 21-yard touchdown pass to Zay Flowers on third-and-17 and added a 2-point pass to Flowers for an octopus (TD and two points) and 31-28 lead.

The Rams marched to the Ravens’ 18 in the final seconds before settling for a field goal to send the game to overtime. Both teams went three-and-out before Tylan Wallace returned a punt 76 yards for a score to give Baltimore a win and keep eight Survivor entries in the hunt for the huge score.

Chiefs don’t pay

Stations needed the Bills, but Caesars and the SuperBook needed the Chiefs, who scored an apparent go-ahead 49-yard TD with 1:12 left in spectacular fashion when Travis Kelce caught a pass from Patrick Mahomes and then lateraled across the field to Kadarius Toney.

But the play was nullified by an offensive offsides penalty on Toney, and Kansas City turned it over on downs.

Caesars took a $121,000 spread bet on Buffalo and a $100,000 money-line wager on the Bills, who dealt the Chiefs their first back-to-back losses since the 2021 season.

“We needed the Chiefs,” Kornegay said. “It is amazing to me how the general public has given up on the Chiefs. They have abandoned that ship over the last couple of weeks. Even though they get their fair share of support, it’s nothing like it was over the last couple of years.

“The Bills have been struggling, too. That just proves how much confidence the general public has lost on Kansas City.”

Under stands

The public capped the day by cashing in on the Cowboys (-3½) in their 33-13 rout of the Eagles on “Sunday Night Football.” But books won big on the total, which stayed under 52½.

Said Esposito: “The best case for us, no matter what the outcome, is keeping the game under.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on X.