Giants among heavy favorites to beat spread

Always overshadowed by his big brother, Eli Manning finally is standing out as one of the NFL's better quarterbacks. And the New York Giants no longer should be overlooked as an elite team.

The Giants were among the three biggest favorites on Sunday -- along with New England and Dallas -- and all three covered as the betting public scored a blowout win against the sports books.

Orleans sports book director Bob Scucci said bettors backed "the usual suspects," in Week 7, and that group included the Patriots, Cowboys and Giants.

"It was the public pounding the favorites," Scucci said. "It's betting on the good teams and betting against the bad teams."

The Giants, 91/2-point home favorites, routed San Francisco 33-15 behind another strong defensive effort and Manning's two touchdown passes. New York won its fifth straight game.

A week ago, Dallas was the clear favorite in the NFC. But the Giants are stepping up as serious contenders.

The Cowboys, also 91/2-point home favorites, had to overcome a 14-7 halftime deficit in a 24-14 win over Minnesota.

With the Patriots' unparalleled dominance in the AFC, Eli Manning might be a better bet than the Indianapolis Colts' Peyton Manning to reach the Super Bowl this season.

New England, a 16-point road favorite, rolled to a 42-7 halftime lead in a 49-28 victory over winless Miami. Tom Brady continued his assault on the record books by passing for 354 yards and six touchdowns.

The Patriots, 7-0 straight up and against the spread, have won every game by at least 17 points.

"Especially with a team like the Patriots, keep laying the points with them until they don't cover," Scucci said. "They just go for the jugular in every game.

"It's hard to keep adjusting the point spreads or power ratings because you don't want to overadjust or overcompensate."

As the point spreads inflate, professional bettors will look for spots to bet against the Patriots. Scucci said that was the case Sunday as some late money showed up on the Dolphins.

When lines opened for Week 8, New England was posted as a 16-point home favorite over Washington.

The Redskins failed to cover as 8-point home favorites in a 21-19 victory over Arizona. Scucci said that marked one of the few significant wins for the books.

Denver posted another win for the books by upsetting the Pittsburgh Steelers 31-28. The Steelers closed as 41/2-point road favorites.

Underdogs went 7-6 against the spread as Buffalo, Chicago, Kansas City and Tennessee joined Denver as outright underdog winners.

The Titans opened as 11/2-point road favorites over Houston, but with Tennessee quarterback Vince Young out with an injury, the Texans closed as 21/2-point favorites.

"We moved that aggressively because of injuries," Scucci said. "It's not like a lot of money drove that line to move four points."

In the wildest game of the day, the Titans beat the Texans 38-36 as Rob Bironas made eight field goals. Tennessee took a 32-7 lead into the fourth quarter.

The public backed Cincinnati as a 6-point home favorite over the New York Jets. The Bengals trailed 23-10 in the third quarter but managed to cover in a 38-31 win.

"It was all Bengals money," Scucci said. "Nothing on the Jets."

Scucci said the public remains eager to bet against bad teams such as the Jets, 49ers and St. Louis Rams, who were blown out 33-6 by Seattle.

In today's game, Indianapolis is a 3-point favorite over Jacksonville. The Colts are 1-6-1 in their past eight games as road favorites.