No magic this time for Manning, Giants

Black smoke hovered over the New York Giants after a crash-and-burn debacle. The daredevil act occasionally blew up in Evel Knievel’s face, and it finally caught up to Eli Manning.

Instead of saving their season and possibly launching another improbable postseason run, the Giants failed miserably in a bone-crushing 33-14 loss at Baltimore that all but guarantees we’ll see a new Super Bowl champion.

Manning showed up Sunday wearing red, white and blue, but just like Knievel, his steam-powered rocket had trouble reaching the end zone and never had a chance to make it over Snake River Canyon.

The only incredible stunt the Giants pulled off was making Joe Flacco look like an elite quarterback.

The Giants, 2½-point favorites, were the biggest flops in Week 16, much to the dismay of the many bettors who were sacked for backing Manning one time too many.

“That was a good game for us. We took almost zero dollars to the Ravens. We had sharp play on the Giants,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said. “Everybody said, ‘The Giants’ backs are against the wall, and this is when they play their best.’ But you can only have so many magical runs.”

If you bet the NFL every week, occasionally you will end up on the wrong side of a lopsided beating, and I was right there with the wagering majority on the Giants.

Flacco passed for 309 yards and two touchdowns, a Ravens defense depleted by injuries turned Manning black and blue, and the Giants limped away needing a near-miracle to make the playoffs. Write it off as a mistake and move on to the next bet.

The next bet for me, and a majority of others, was Seattle, which put a lopsided beating on San Francisco, 42-13. The Seahawks went from 1-point underdogs to 2½-point home favorites, and the line move was to the right side. The 49ers never had a chance, and maybe Jim Harbaugh was humbled, at least a little.

It was a slow Sunday at the sports books, often the case around Christmas, and the bettors and bookmakers mostly traded money, with a slight edge going to the books. The bettors also were right to side with Carolina, Chicago, Cincinnati and New Orleans. Aside from the Giants, bettors were wrong to jump on Cleveland and New England.

“We took sharp money on the Browns all week,” Rood said. “We had straight bets on the Patriots, and all parlays and teasers went to the Patriots, too.”

The Browns, bet from 13- to 11-point underdogs, were crushed 34-12 at Denver as Peyton Manning passed for 339 yards and three touchdowns. The only sharp money was bet by the public, which continues to ride the Broncos.

New England, a two-touchdown favorite at Jacksonville, had to overcome a 10-0 deficit and barely held on to win, 23-16.

Just as he did a week earlier in Dallas, Ben Roethlisberger threw an interception that doomed the Pittsburgh Steelers, who were 3½-point home favorites in a 13-10 loss to the Bengals. Roethlisberger and the Steelers are eliminated.

Tony Romo and the Cowboys still are clinging to playoff hopes, despite another predictable disappointment on their home field. Rood said bettors “pounded the Saints” as small underdogs, and Drew Brees shredded the Dallas defense for 446 yards passing and three touchdowns.

Romo wasn’t to blame this time. His two TD passes in the final four minutes rallied the Cowboys, who amazingly forced overtime before falling, 34-31. Dallas is down to its last chance, next week at Washington, where the winner takes the NFC East title. Robert Griffin III against Romo in prime time, with the postseason on the line, is about as good as it gets in terms of Week 17 drama.

The Redskins, 5½-point favorites, were lucky to get out of Philadelphia with a 27-20 win and cover. The Eagles’ Nick Foles threw a short strike to Evan Moore near the goal line with less than 10 seconds remaining, but Moore dropped the ball, and it seemed fitting to see the Eagles screw up the ending.

Favorites finished the day 8-7 against the spread, with two of the three double-digit favorites covering. Green Bay, laying 11 points, blasted the disinterested Tennessee Titans, 55-7.

Houston, a 7½-point favorite, scored six in a lopsided loss to the Minnesota Vikings, who didn’t even need a huge game from Adrian Peterson (86 yards on 25 carries) to humiliate the Texans.

It can be argued the Texans were the day’s biggest flops, but who really expects Matt Schaub to do anything but fall on his face in games that matter?

So much more was expected of Eli Manning and the Giants, who turned in a super-sized debacle to burn all those betting tickets in a cloud of black smoke.

Contact sports betting columnist Matt Youmans at myoumans@reviewjournal.com or 702-387-2907. He co-hosts “The Las Vegas Sportsline” weekdays at 2 p.m. on ESPN Radio (1100 AM, 98.9 FM). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247.