Newton, Panthers continue to astonish

Three months ago, the odds against the Panthers producing a perfect regular season were probably longer than the odds against peace overtaking the Middle East or a Kardashian sister winning “Survivor: Cambodia.” Yet one of those things is close to happening.

The Panthers survived another scare Sunday, when Newton passed for five touchdowns to beat the Saints 41-38 in New Orleans. Carolina got to 12-0 as Newton danced all day, and it’s time to begrudgingly warm up to his act.

“Why don’t they have a chance to keep winning? The kid is playing better and he’s making the right decisions,” said Jimmy Vaccaro, an old oddsmaker at the South Point sports book. “You can’t be stubborn, and I’m not stubborn. I won’t undersell the Panthers.”

With four games remaining — two against Atlanta, a trip to New York to face the shrinking Giants and the finale at home against Tampa Bay — the Panthers are closing in on perfection. At the Westgate, the price on the Carolina-to-go-16-0 prop was down to “No” minus-500 and “Yes” plus-400 before Newton dodged an upset bid in New Orleans.

The Panthers were down 14-0 after the first quarter. With 1:05 left in the fourth, Newton zipped the winning 15-yard touchdown pass to Jerricho Cotchery.

Vaccaro said tickets on the Panthers were written at more than a 3-to-1 ratio. But sharp money was on the Saints, who closed as 6-point underdogs after the line opened at 7. Carolina cashed teaser and money-line bets for everyone who was right to think the Panthers would win the game, but laying the points was risky business.

What about wagering on the NFL is not risky? The league is a nonsensical mess, but it’s also entertaining in a fatal attraction sort of way.

“It starts off with the Hail Mary of a lifetime for Aaron Rodgers,” Vaccaro said, “and it just continues.”

Week 13 has featured all kinds of odd events. It started Thursday in Detroit, where Rodgers received a reprieve from a phantom penalty before heaving a prayer as time expired, and Green Bay got one of the luckiest wins you will ever see. If you bet the Lions plus-3 in their 27-23 loss, it was the worst beat of the NFL season.

Bookmakers won big Sunday with Chicago and New England losing in bizarre fashion and blowing up teasers and money-line parlays in the process. But it was no surprise when Tom Brady passed for two touchdowns in the first 7½ minutes for the Patriots, who closed as 9½-point home favorites over Philadelphia.

“It’s 14-0 real quick and you say, ‘Here we go again,’ ” Vaccaro said.

And then the Eagles rose from the dead, scoring on a 24-yard blocked punt return, a 99-yard interception return and an 83-yard punt return. Sam Bradford’s second touchdown pass buried the Patriots in a 35-14 hole. New England, which had gone 56 games without back-to-back losses, was stuck with a 35-28 loss.

Las Vegas film critic Tony Macklin picked the Eagles to cover (a production error in the Sunday edition of the Review-Journal misrepresented his five picks) and he was on the money in more ways than one.

“I’ve been a strong supporter of Sam Bradford all year,” Macklin said. “He’s taken a lot of unfair heat. But he’s hung in there.”

The 49ers, 6½- to 7-point underdogs, hung with the Bears long enough to win 26-20 in overtime. Chicago was set to win at the end of regulation before Robbie Gould stunningly shanked a 36-yard field-goal attempt.

Meltdowns by the Bears and Patriots made the day for bookmakers, and Vaccaro said, “Everything else was a small loser or small winner, but mostly winners. It was a good day.”

It went especially well for Russell Wilson. Wilson’s three touchdown passes lifted Seattle, bet to a 3-point favorite in a game that opened pick’em, to a 38-7 win in Minnesota.

“The ugliest game for us was the Seahawks,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said. “The sharps were all over that.”

I was all over the Giants, who were all over the Jets in the fourth quarter. But, unfortunately, Giants coach Tom Coughlin is no longer capable of managing a game or even a Burger King franchise. Coughlin made a whopper of a mistake by gambling at the wrong time. With a 20-10 lead and nine minutes remaining, he made a decision to go for it on fourth-and-2 at the 4-yard line. You just knew it would end badly, and it did when Eli Manning tossed a lame duck that was intercepted near the goal line.

The Jets, 2½-point favorites, escaped 23-20 in overtime after the Giants’ Josh Brown missed a 48-yard field goal.

“I don’t know what the hell I’m watching sometimes,” Vaccaro said. “Coughlin should just resign. This is nothing new.”

Not many people were interested in watching Jacksonville-Tennessee, but it was a wild one. The teams combined for 41 points in the fourth quarter, and the Titans, 2½- to 3-point favorites, pulled it out 42-39.

Cleveland, San Diego and St. Louis were held to a field goal apiece in boring blowout losses. Matt Ryan threw a pick that ended the Falcons’ 23-19 loss to the Buccaneers in a pick’em game. Atlanta has failed to cover eight straight games. Kansas City has won and covered six in a row. The Chiefs scored the final 20 points in a 34-20 victory over the same old Raiders in Oakland.

In the nightcap, Ben Roethlisberger’s four touchdown passes helped Pittsburgh, a 10-point favorite, beat bookmakers and pound Indianapolis 45-10. Colts quarterback Matt Hasselbeck, a great story last week, was knocked out this week.

It’s hard to knock Newton and the Panthers, who were expected to win eight games this season but might double that total.

BOTTOM LINES — After semifinal matchups in the College Football Playoff were unveiled Sunday morning, betting lines opened immediately. Top-seeded Clemson is a 3-point underdog to Oklahoma. No. 2 Alabama is favored by 9½ over Michigan State.

In the Las Vegas Bowl, Utah is expected to open as a 3-point favorite over Brigham Young. The bowl season is about as unpredictable as any given Sunday in the NFL.

Las Vegas Review-Journal sports betting columnist Matt Youmans can be reached 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). Follow him on Twitter: @mattyoumans247