Cowboys bail out bettors with wild win, overs cash on NFL Sunday

Mamas, don’t let your babies grow up to be Cowboys bettors. Unless they’re playing the Giants.

The betting public was all over the Cowboys on Sunday, including $3.5 million worth of Circa Survivor entries (3,506) gunning for the $18.7 million prize who selected Dallas to beat New York for the ninth straight time.

“The Cowboys was such a one-sided game,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “Everybody was on the Cowboys.”

It looked like the Giants, who closed as 4½-point underdogs, were finally going to defeat Dallas in a wild back-and-forth affair in which the teams combined for five consecutive go-ahead touchdowns in the final 12 minutes of the fourth quarter.

Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, who has beaten New York 14 straight times, threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to George Pickens to put Dallas ahead 34-30 with 52 seconds left. New York quarterback Russell Wilson, who threw for 450 yards, answered with a 48-yard touchdown pass to Malik Nabers to put the Giants up 37-34 with 25 seconds to go.

But it still wasn’t over. With bettors sweating and sportsbooks salivating for an outright win by an underdog, Dallas kicker Brandon Aubrey made a 64-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime.

“That was one of the most wild games you’ll ever see in your life with 41 fourth-quarter points and then the overtime,” Boomer’s Sportsbook director of trading Nick Bogdanovich said. “It was bizarre, to say the least. You know it’s crazy if Russell Wilson threw for 450 (yards).”

The Giants still had a chance to win with 2:09 left in overtime when Wilson threw an ill-advised deep ball that was easily intercepted. The Cowboys won 40-37 on Aubrey’s 46-yard field goal but didn’t cover in one of the best games for the books.

“We did OK because the Giants covered, but if the Giants had won outright, that would’ve been huge,” Murray said. “That would’ve carried the whole day, with the teasers and money line parlays tied to that game.”

Book report

Books reported a small win on the second NFL Sunday of the season despite favorites winning nine of 13 games while going 7-6 against the spread. Bettors also cashed in on totals as overs went 10-3 after unders started the season 13-4.

Overs went 8-1 in the morning games and favorites went 7-2 straight up.

“The combination of favorite wins and high-scoring outcomes made the morning slate a standout session for bettors,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said. “The afternoon games were a push for bettors as the Eagles were popular, but the points didn’t arrive.

“Bettors are 2-0 on the season for Sundays and continuing their tremendous form.”

Besides the Giants, the best games for books were the Seahawks (+4, beat Steelers 31-17), Panthers (+7, lost to Cardinals 27-22) and Colts (+1, beat Broncos 29-28).

“The Seahawks winning outright against the Steelers was probably the best game of the day for us,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “The Panthers getting that backdoor cover kind of saved the day for us going into the night game.”

The turning point in the Steelers’ loss took place early in the fourth quarter, when the Seahawks recovered their kickoff in the end zone to take a 10-point lead after a blunder by Pittsburgh kick returner Kaleb Johnson, who turned his back on a live football.

Carolina trailed 27-9 in the fourth quarter before scoring touchdowns on back-to-back possessions to cover. The Panthers recovered an onside kick and had a chance to win before turning it over on downs in the final seconds at the Arizona 38.

The Colts rallied for a win after kicker Spencer Shrader missed a 60-yard field-goal try with no time left. A penalty on the Broncos moved the ball 15 yards closer and Shrader made the 45-yarder to lift Indianapolis to victory.

Bettors’ best

The best games for bettors were the Bengals (-3½, beat Jaguars 31-27), Bills (-5½, beat Jets 30-10), Eagles (-1, beat Chiefs 20-17), Lions (-6½, beat Bears 52-21), Rams (-5½, beat Titans 33-19) and Ravens (-12½, beat Browns 41-17).

“The public was all over the Eagles and the Rams,” Bogdanovich said.

Boomer’s Sportsbook, which opened in August, is offering reduced juice of -105 on NFL sides this season, as well as a sign-up offer in which new customers are eligible for up to $250 in bonus bets.

The Westgate offers -108 on NFL point spreads and -109 in college.

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