Betting on the NFL tends to be an emotional roller coaster with plenty of twists and turns. Sunday’s game between the Dallas Cowboys and New England Patriots had all that and then some.
Dallas -3 and -3.5 was one of the most popular bets of the day and sportsbooks were rooting heavily for New England to pull off the upset. There were three lead changes in the fourth quarter — including two in 16 seconds — yet the books were still in a solid spot with the Patriots holding a three-point lead with two minutes to go.
If Cowboys kicker Greg Zuerlein missed his 49-yard field goal attempt in the final seconds of regulation, most shops would’ve cleaned up on a Patriots’ outright win. Instead, Zuerlein drilled the kick to tie the game and send it into overtime.
Bettors holding New England tickets at +3, +3.5 and +4 proceeded to lose on the game’s final play when Dak Prescott hit CeeDee Lamb for a 35-yard touchdown.
Dallas’ six-point victory — which covered all the numbers — caused a massive six-figure swing at multiple American sportsbooks. Books went from potentially collecting big to paying out big on all those Cowboy bets. Even a Dallas field goal would’ve been fine for the house because of all the -3.5 wagers.
“Dallas covering all those -3.5 bets is pretty insane,” Westgate SuperBook executive director John Murray told NESN. “It was a six-figure swing just in Nevada. It was a very happy crowd here. It’s a long season. We will be OK.”
“The public loaded up on Dallas like they knew the final score,” one unnamed bookmaker told NESN. “They bet the Cowboys straight, they parlayed ’em and bet ’em on the moneyline. That’s usually how it goes in the NFL. We needed the Patriots so bad. What a sickening result. We were winners, then we weren’t.”
Golden Nugget sportsbook director Tony Miller summed the result up best.
“This is just one of those days when I wanna just go home and lock myself in my room with a full bottle of Knob Creek,” he tweeted.
The Patriots (2-4 ATS) have failed to cover the spread in three of their last four games. They’re a seven-point favorite next Sunday at home against the New York Jets.
