Roars resound at sportsbooks as NFL takes bettors on wild ride

The roars from the crowd at the Red Rock Resort sportsbook came one after another late Sunday afternoon as the NFL took fans and bettors on another thrill ride.

At the same time, on side-by-side big screens, the Raiders and Chargers were gunning for game-tying touchdowns in the final minutes.

The crowd exploded when Derek Carr found Foster Moreau for a 5-yard TD pass and Daniel Carlson added the extra point as the Raiders (+4) tied the Seahawks 34-34.

Moments later, the crowd erupted again when Justin Herbert hit Austin Ekeler for a 1-yard TD pass with 15 seconds left, giving gamblers hope for a cover in overtime by the Chargers, who were 2½-point favorites over the Cardinals.

But those cheers quickly turned to groans when coach Brandon Staley held up two fingers and called for a two-point conversion attempt.

The gamble paid off as Los Angeles converted in a 25-24 victory. But the call cost Chargers spread bettors money.

“We wanted them to go for two,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “We were clearly Cardinals fans, and going for two meant the Cardinals were going to cover no matter what.”

A few minutes after that, the crowd cheered when the 49ers stopped the Saints on four downs from the 4-yard line with 6:18 left to preserve their 13-0 lead as 8½-point favorites. San Francisco then ran out the clock to cover in the win.

The Saints also lost a fumble at the Niners’ 6 in the fourth quarter, as bettors dealt Station its largest loss of the day.

“It was really kind of a tale of bad beats on both sides of the counter,” Esposito said. “It’s not often that you’re getting nine points and your team gives up 13 and you still get beat.”

Books win big on Raiders

The loudest roar at Red Rock was reserved for the Raiders, when Josh Jacobs channeled Bo Jackson and sprinted 86 yards for a game-ending TD in a 40-34 OT win and cover against the Seahawks.

But most bettors faded the Raiders for the second straight week.

The Raiders delivered one of the biggest winners to the books, including BetMGM, where a bettor lost a mid six-figure wager on Seattle.

“I thought the Raiders were going to somehow find a way to lose a close game. But give them a lot of credit,” Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “They really played hard, and Jacobs was running like a madman.”

A Caesars bettor won $250,000 on a wager on the Chiefs -15½ over the Rams. Barely. Harrison Butker kicked a 22-yard field goal with 1:44 left for the final margin in Kansas City’s 26-10 win.

But many gamblers who waited until Sunday to bet the Chiefs either pushed or lost on the game, which closed at 16½. Kansas City was up 20-10 when it ran six plays inside the Los Angeles 9 before Patrick Mahomes threw an interception with 8:50 left.

The Chiefs then settled for back-to-back 22-yard field goals following two interceptions by Rams quarterback Bryce Perkins.

Bad beats

Bettors were dealt bad beats by the Buccaneers and Ravens.

Tampa Bay (-3½) was 32 seconds away from a 17-10 win and cover at Cleveland when David Njoku made a one-handed 12-yard TD catch on fourth-and-10. The Browns won 23-17 in OT on Nick Chubb’s 3-yard run with 19 seconds left.

Baltimore (-3½) appeared headed for a win and cover at Jacksonville after it scored a TD and the two-point conversion to go ahead 27-20 with 2:02 left. But the Jaguars answered with Marvin Jones’ 10-yard shin-dragging TD catch with 14 seconds left.

Ravens bettors could still cover with a TD in OT. But Jacksonville killed those hopes by going for two. The gamble paid off for the Jaguars, as they converted and held on for a 28-27 win that was good for the books.

“We love two-point conversion attempts,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.

In what was either a bad beat or a miracle cover, depending on which side you bet, Washington escaped with a 19-13 victory and cover as a 3½-point favorite over Atlanta when Marcus Mariota threw an interception in the end zone with 1:03 left from the 4.

“That was definitely a bad beat for our side of the counter because we needed the Falcons,” Esposito said.

It was a different story at the South Point, where Washington was the book’s biggest win.

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