NFL Week 12 betting recap: 4 teams erase double-digit deficits

It was a comeback Sunday in the NFL as the Chiefs, Lions, Patriots and Cowboys erased double-digit deficits en route to Week 12 wins.

But Dallas, which closed as a 3-point home underdog to the Eagles, was the only one of the four that covered the spread after storming back from an early 21-0 hole to deal Philadelphia a stunning 24-21 defeat capped by Brandon Aubrey’s 42-yard field goal as time expired.

“Bettors loved the Cowboys throughout the week,” Caesars Sportsbook head of football Joey Feazel said.

Dallas quarterback Dak Prescott extended his home winning streak against NFC East opponents to 19.

Detroit, which closed as a 14-point favorite over the Giants, trailed by 10 early in the fourth quarter before forcing overtime on Jake Bates’ tying 59-yard field goal with 28 seconds left. The Lions were only in position to tie it with a field goal because New York interim coach Mike Kafka went for it on fourth-and-goal from the 6 with 2:59 left instead of kicking a field goal to extend the Giants’ lead to six.

New York won the coin toss in overtime and deferred, and Jahmyr Gibbs sprinted for a 69-yard touchdown on the first snap of the extra session to put the Lions up 34-27. Giants quarterback Jameis Winston was sacked at the Detroit 31 on fourth down to end it.

Survive and advance

There are only eight entries remaining in the $5,000-entry SuperContest Survivor contest that pays $550,000 to the winner. Incredibly, the same contestant — no relation to Biff Tannen of the “Back to the Future” film trilogy — survived on both of their entries after making one selection on the Cowboys and one on the Lions.

While most bettors were rooting for Detroit to rally, sportsbooks were hoping for a Giants outright win.

“The Lions landing exactly 7 was the worst possible scenario for us with teasers and money line parlays,” Westgate vice president of race and sports John Murray said. “If the Giants had won outright, that would’ve been our biggest win of the year.

“We’ll probably end up being a small loser for the day, which is pretty disappointing because we did have some big wins. But the Lions game landing where it landed and the afternoon was so bad, it blew the day.”

One of the six entries left in the $100,000-entry Circa Grandissimo contest ($6.9 million prize) had the Lions, and 60 Circa Survivor entries still in the quest for the $18.7 million prize also were bailed out by Detroit.

The Patriots beat the Bengals 26-20 after trailing 10-0 early in the second quarter. But New England failed to cover as a 7½-point favorite after Joe Flacco threw a 17-yard touchdown pass to Mitchell Tinsley to close the gap to 23-20 with 4:40 left.

Kansas City still kicking

The Chiefs erased a 20-9 fourth-quarter deficit on their way to a 23-20 overtime win over the Colts to improve to 6-5 and stay on the playoff bubble. But Kansas City, which closed as a 4½-point favorite, didn’t cover.

“That number actually crept up before kickoff. There was a huge late push on the Chiefs,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “Getting them to win but not cover was ideal for us.

“Overall, it was a pretty good day. We didn’t get the big money-line ’dog, but getting some of those ’dogs to cover were all good scores for us.”

Kansas City quarterback Patrick Mahomes threw for a season-high 352 yards and the Chiefs defense forced Indianapolis to go three-and-out on its final four possessions.

“Despite their record, Kansas City once again showed why it’s hard to doubt them in tightly contested games,” Feazel said. “We continue to hold the Chiefs in high regard in both our power rankings and futures markets. Their playoff odds are expected to reopen in the -220 to -280 range.”

Upset afternoon

Favorites went 9-3 straight up on Sunday, but only 4-8 against the spread, including 7-0 straight up in the morning games (2-5 ATS). Unders went 8-4.

The Westgate lost all four afternoon games. Besides the Cowboys’ comeback, the Falcons (+1½) beat the Saints 24-10, the Jaguars (-2½) clipped the Cardinals 27-24 and the Browns (+3) dominated the Raiders in a 24-10 win at Allegiant Stadium.

“Everybody here was on the Browns,” Murray said. “The Raiders were our big game in the afternoon and we never really had a shot in that one. That was a tough one for us.”

Browns quarterbacks in their first start were on an 0-17 slide entering the matchup of 2-8 teams, but Shedeur Sanders ended the ignominious streak with the help of Cleveland’s defense, which had 10 sacks.

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