Rivers, Chargers expose phony Romo, Cowboys

A quarterback who was anointed a star too soon was on display and further exposed Sunday. But Philip Rivers and the San Diego Chargers weren't the frauds.

In the stock market that is NFL futures, buy the Chargers at 12-1 odds to win the Super Bowl. Rivers is a winner, and he keeps proving that point.

Sell all plummeting stock in the Dallas Cowboys and Tony Romo, who can't win a big game after Thanksgiving. Quarterbacks should be judged mostly by their win-loss records, not the famous women they date, and Romo too often falls woefully short in games that matter most.

The Cowboys, at home with a lot on the line, squandered opportunities and stumbled to the finish in a 20-17 loss to the Chargers.

"It's easy to say now the Cowboys are in bad shape," said Jimmy Vaccaro, director of operations for Lucky's sports books. "Right now, they have got the worst of it. The Cowboys are in a spot not to make the playoffs."

December trends aside, Dallas seemed to be in a good spot as a 3-point favorite over San Diego. The line closed 31/2 at several books. The Chargers, playing the tail end of back-to-back road games, already controlled the AFC West and could have afforded a loss.

But with three first-half drives that began deep in San Diego territory, Romo and the offense feebly produced one field goal.

Rivers passed for 272 yards and a touchdown. It was not his best performance, but he did what needed to be done. He is tough, he's surrounded by talented playmakers and the Chargers' defense is getting stronger.

Romo passed for 249 yards and two touchdowns. Those numbers are deceiving, though, because 91 yards came on Dallas' last drive that resulted in a touchdown with two seconds left.

More and more, Romo resembles an average quarterback who's capable of some great plays and a few great games. He just doesn't will his team to victories in these type games.

The Cowboys are in need of changes. Jerry Jones needs to stop making terrible trades (see: Roy Williams) and he needs to can his Humpty Dumpty coach, Wade Phillips, and hire a bolder leader.

Dallas (8-5) has a shot to salvage its mess, but the next one is a long shot. The Cowboys are 7-point underdogs at New Orleans in Week 15.

The Saints, 10-point favorites at Atlanta, survived to win 26-23 despite coach Sean Payton's ill-fated fake field goal call late in the fourth quarter. Either kick the field goal and go up six points or let the league's No. 1 offense try to pick up the first down.

"The Saints should've lost because of that stupid play," said Vaccaro, who has proposition bets posted on New Orleans and the Indianapolis Colts going 16-0.

"I'm not sure the Colts will try to win them all at any cost. But I think there's a different mindset with the Saints, and they're going to go for it."

The Colts, who covered 61/2 points in a 28-16 victory over the Denver Broncos, clinched the AFC's top seed and home-field advantage throughout the playoffs. So will Peyton Manning and other key players get some rest?

It's a perplexing question. The Colts play at Jacksonville on Thursday, and Las Vegas Sports Consultants sent out Indianapolis minus-61/2 as an opening number. With talk that Manning will start but see limited action, forcing rookie Curtis Painter to play quarterback for the Colts, LVSC quickly pulled the 61/2 off the board, and the Las Vegas Hilton posted the Jaguars as 21/2-point favorites.

Philadelphia closed as a 1-point favorite in its 45-38 victory over the New York Giants, making favorites 10-4 against the spread Sunday. The betting public has been getting pounded in recent weeks, but the sports books got the worst of it in Week 14. Buffalo, Green Bay, Houston and the New York Jets delivered key wins for the bettors.

San Diego (10-3) has won eight straight, and Rivers is 16-0 in December as the starting quarterback.

The Colts' immediate concern is resting starters, but they might have something greater to fear, and it's the possibility of seeing Rivers and the Chargers in the playoffs.

Contact sports betting reporter/columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907.