Nick Chubb costs Browns bettors by eschewing certain TD
Betting on the Cleveland Browns long has been a frustrating and often futile endeavor. Since 2010, they have the NFL’s worst record against the spread at 67-96-6.
But bettors who backed Cleveland on Sunday — including one at BetMGM sportsbook in Las Vegas who wagered $100,000 on the Browns -4 over the Texans — were dealt an especially painful fate.
That's our RB 😤
📺: @NFLonFOX pic.twitter.com/TNMnLnEb45
— Cleveland Browns (@Browns) November 15, 2020
Cleveland, which opened as a 3-point favorite and closed -4½, led 10-7 with 1:07 left and was trying to run out the clock. Browns bettors essentially needed a miracle to cover and appeared to get one when Nick Chubb broke loose down the sideline for what appeared to be a certain 60-yard touchdown run.
But then Chubb went out of bounds at the 1-yard line, allowing Cleveland to run out the clock and ensure Houston had no shot to pull off an improbable comeback.
“That is the natural instinct to get into the end zone,” Chubb said. “Something came into my head and said, ‘let’s go out of bounds.’
“I think if I hadn’t gotten (a TD) earlier, I would have scored, but it worked out.”
Not for Browns bettors. His decision turned their ecstasy into agony and caused a mid six-figure swing in favor of BetMGM. The number was higher when taking all books into account, as sharp bettors and the betting public were on Cleveland.
“You heard rumbling out in the room and people booing,” Sunset Station sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “It was probably one of the top two or three biggest decisions of the day. We needed the Texans. It was a huge swing industrywide.”
Bettors bounce back
On the flip side, the books lost when DeAndre Hopkins pulled down Kyler Murray’s 43-yard Hail Mary heave in the end zone with one second left to lift Arizona to a 32-30 comeback win over Buffalo. The Cardinals, who opened at -1½ and closed at -3, knelt on the 2-point try to avoid the risk of a blocked kick return.
BetMGM essentially got middled on the game, as early Arizona bettors and late Bills bettors cashed tickets.
“I guess it kind of all evened out because we lost on the Cardinals game,” MGM Resorts director of trading Jeff Stoneback said.
Bettors recouped some money in Week 10 after back-to-back banner weeks for the books. Bettors won in the afternoon games, as favorites went 5-1 ATS, with Arizona the only point-spread loser.
Books lost big on the Steelers (-7, 36-10 over the Bengals), Raiders (-3½, 37-12 over the Broncos), Saints (-9½, 27-13 over the 49ers) and Buccaneers (-6, 46-23 over the Panthers).
“It was a pretty chalky weekend,” Westgate sportsbook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “That usually is not good if you’re on this side of the counter.”
After NFL underdogs went 19-9 ATS with 12 outright wins in Weeks 8 and 9, only one underdog won during the day Sunday, as the Giants (+4½) defeated the Eagles 27-17.
“It was not a good day. We’re going to be a small loser,” Stoneback said before “Sunday Night Football.” “If the Ravens cover, it will be a really bad day.”
The Patriots, who closed as 7-point underdogs to the Ravens, bailed out the books in a 23-17 win, killing all parlays, teasers and straight bets, including a $235,000 wager on Baltimore -6½ at BetMGM.
Besides New England, the biggest wins for the books were the Giants, Dolphins (-1½, 29-21 victory over the Chargers) and Jaguars, who lost 24-20 at Green Bay but easily covered as 13½-point underdogs.
Jacksonville made 204 of the 310 remaining Circa Survivor contestants who selected the Packers sweat. The Jaguars led Green Bay 20-17 early in the fourth quarter and had the ball at midfield in the final minutes before turning it over on downs.
Raiders +7 vs. Chiefs
Sharp money was all over Denver, but it turned out to be sharp as a marble, as Las Vegas forced five turnovers and outscored the Broncos 27-6 in the second half to improve to 6-3.
“The Raiders didn’t look ahead to the big Sunday night showdown with the Chiefs,” Esposito said. “This sets up one of the best games in the league next week.”
Kansas City (8-1) opened as a 7-point road favorite over Las Vegas at the Westgate, and the total is 54½.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
