Kickers are wild cards in NFL’s opening playoff weekend
Seahawks bettors were better off without a kicker down the stretch of Seattle’s 24-22 loss Saturday night to the Cowboys.
But Bears money-line and teaser bettors could’ve used a clutch kicker at the end of Sunday’s 16-15 loss to the Eagles.
Hundreds of thousands of dollars in wagers changed hands at Las Vegas sports books when Chicago kicker Cody Parkey’s 43-yard field goal try hit the left upright and then the crossbar with 10 seconds left.
Big Bears’ losses
A CG Technology bettor won $43,000 on a $20,000 ML wager on Philadelphia (+215). But another CG Technology bettor lost a $99,000 ML bet on the Bears and an MGM Resorts bettor lost a $260,000 ML wager on Chicago (-260).
Nick Foles threw a go-ahead 2-yard touchdown pass to Golden Tate on fourth down with 56 seconds left and the score stood up as underdogs went 4-0 ATS with three outright wins on NFL wild-card weekend.
No kicker, no problem
The Seahawks were the only underdog that didn’t prevail, but they rallied for an improbable backdoor cover for many bettors after closing as 2½-point ’dogs.
After losing kicker Sebastian Janikowski to a hamstring injury on a 57-yard field goal try at the end of the first half, Seattle abandoned the kicking game in the second half and the move paid dividends for its backers.
The Seahawks might’ve tried a long field goal on fourth-and-5 from the Dallas 39, but they went for it instead and Russell Wilson hit Doug Baldwin for a 22-yard pass that set up Wilson’s 4-yard TD run. Rather than try an extra point, Mike Davis ran for a 2-point conversion for a 14-10 lead.
Dak Prescott put the Cowboys ahead 24-14 with a TD run with 2:08 left, but two plays later Wilson hit Tyler Lockett for 53 yards. Facing fourth-and-4 at the Dallas 7 with 1:18 left, Seattle again declined a field goal try and Wilson hit J.D. McKissic for a TD to make it 24-20 and push the game over the total. Seattle then again went for two and Chris Carson ran it in to make the score 24-22 and burn countless Cowboys bettors.
“If it wasn’t for the kicker getting hurt, Dallas would’ve covered no matter what,” Westgate sports book manager Ed Salmons said. “It just goes to show you that if you ignore kicking and just go for it and go for two, you’re better off. I really believe that.”
The finish caused a six-figure swing in favor of bettors at CG Technology, which took a lot of action on the Cowboys at minus 2 and the Seahawks at plus 2½. The line also sat at 1½ during the week.
Six-figure swings
It also resulted in a $205,000 swing for a William Hill bettor in New Jersey who’d placed a total of $275,000 on the Cowboys at three different numbers: $110,000 at minus 1½, $110,000 at minus 2 and $55,000 at minus 2½. Instead of winning $250,000, the gambler won $45,000.
An MGM bettor lost a $100,000 wager on Dallas at minus 2½ and pushed on a $110,000 bet at minus 2.
Another MGM bettor won $100,000 on Dallas in the first half but lost a $100,000 bet on the Cowboys (pick) in the second half on the late 2-point conversion.
Public wins on Colts, Chargers
The betting public won big on the Colts — who beat the Texans 21-7 Saturday as 1½-point ’dogs — and Chargers, who beat the Ravens 23-17 Sunday as 3-point ’dogs.
An MGM bettor won $365,000 worth of ATS and ML wagers on the Chargers in the first half and game. But the gambler gave back a total of $210,000 in ATS and ML bets on Los Angeles in the second half, when Baltimore outscored it 17-11 behind two late TD passes by Lamar Jackson.
“The Colts and the Chargers were the two underdogs the public backed the most,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said. “No team is playing better than the Colts and you can make a case that the Chargers are the best team in the AFC right now.
“It sets up really good matchups in the divisional round, especially in the AFC.”
Public on Colts over Chiefs
The Chiefs are 6-point favorites over the Colts and the Patriots are 4½-point favorites over the Chargers.
“We’ve got decent-sized action on the Colts so far. They seem to be the public darling. That line is so short,” Salmons said. “New England got the bye and (L.A.) is on a back-to-back trip to the East Coast with another early start.
“The Chargers are obviously more than capable of winning but that’s such a hard spot. That’s why the spread is higher than it should be.”
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.