Bettors back streaking Saints over Cowboys on ‘TNF’
Home teams have been a veritable cash machine in recent years on “Thursday Night Football,” going 30-14-3 against the spread.
Backing home underdogs long has been a popular strategy, too. But both theories will be put to the test Thursday when the Cowboys host the sizzling Saints.
New Orleans, which has won 10 straight games and covered nine in a row, is a 7- to 7½-point favorite over Dallas at Las Vegas sports books. The total is 52 for the game at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
A Westgate bettor placed a $20,000 wager on the Saints on Thursday morning, and another Westgate bettor placed a $4,000 wager to win $10,000 on New Orleans at the alternate point spread of minus 14½ (plus 250).
The ticket count at the Westgate is 3-1 in favor of the Saints, who, unlike most Thursday night road teams, have had a week to prepare after beating the Falcons 31-17 on Thanksgiving Day.
“We’ll certainly need Dallas. Betting is starting to pick up a little bit, and we already have a pretty big liability on the Saints,” Westgate sports book director John Murray said. “We’ve also taken money on the over. We’ll be rooting for Dallas and the under. The Saints and the over is super popular every week.”
The Cowboys have won and covered their past three games and feature the NFL’s No. 3 scoring defense and leading rusher in Ezekiel Elliott. The Saints lead the league in scoring (37.2 ppg) and have the No. 1 rushing defense.
New Orleans quarterback Drew Brees has completed 76.4 percent of his passes with 29 touchdowns and two interceptions.
“It’s really hard to pick against the Saints at this point,” Murray said. “I’m not usually someone to recommend a 7-point road favorite. But if I had to pick it, I’d probably take the Saints. They’re on such a roll right now.”
Those looking to take 7½ points can find it at Station Casinos, MGM Resorts, Wynn Las Vegas, Boyd Gaming and the Golden Nugget sports books.
Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
