Raiders set off ‘eruption’ on Del Rio’s dice roll
Who knows if the Raiders will relocate from Oakland to Las Vegas in the near future, but coach Jack Del Rio is already adapting to a gambling mentality.
“He took a shot,” Sunset Station sports book director Chuck Esposito said, “and it paid off.”
Del Rio took a risky roll of the dice, signaling for a 2-point conversion attempt with the Raiders trailing by one and 47 seconds remaining. Esposito described the result of the play as the crowd’s “biggest eruption” of the day.
“Just seeing the Raiders fans going nuts, I can’t imagine if that team moved here,” Westgate sports book director Jay Kornegay said.
The first Sunday of the NFL season set off emotional eruptions from morning to night. It was standing room only in sports books all over Las Vegas. The wagering handle, Kornegay said, was “through the roof.” Most of the games turned into wild thrill rides.
“People were camped out early in the morning,” Esposito said. “The crowds were awesome, and the atmosphere was tremendous.”
Nothing topped the finish to the Raiders’ 35-34 victory over New Orleans. As soon as Derek Carr tossed a 10-yard touchdown pass, Del Rio made it clear he was going all-in for the the road win. Carr connected with Michael Crabtree for the 2-point conversion on a perfectly executed pass and catch.
But the outcome was far from decided. The Saints, who opened as 1-point favorites and closed at minus-3 because of sharp action, still had a shot. It was a long shot. As time expired, Wil Lutz’s field goal try from 61 yards started drifting left and narrowly missed, triggering another near-riot by Raiders backers.
Drew Brees passed for 423 yards and four touchdowns — including a 98-yard strike to Brandin Cooks — and walked off as the losing quarterback.
Esposito supported Del Rio’s daring move, saying, “It didn’t seem like the Raiders would be able to stop Brees.”
A majority of bookmakers reported a small win on the day. Underdogs went 6-5-2 against the spread with Oakland, Tampa Bay, Detroit and New England winning outright as ‘dogs. The day ended at 8:33 p.m., when the Patriots survived a thrill ride to take down Arizona 23-21.
“Everything was riding on the Patriots,” Kornegay said. “It was going to decide if we were a winner or a loser for the day.”
Three games were decided by one point. Two games were decided by two points. One game went to overtime.
Cincinnati, which closed as a 1-point favorite after opening at 2½, beat the New York Jets 23-22 on Mike Nugent’s 47-yard field goal with 54 seconds left.
Kansas City, a 6½-point favorite, came back from the dead — or a 24-3 deficit — to stun San Diego 33-27 in overtime.
Green Bay, a popular 5-point favorite early in the week, was laying 3½ at kickoff. The score fell in the middle, as the Packers made a last-minute defensive stand to defeat Jacksonville 27-23.
With kicker Dan Bailey ready to attempt a field goal from 57 yards, the clock expired on the Dallas Cowboys in a 20-19 loss to the Giants. New York was a 1-point favorite at most books, and the game was pick ’em at a few spots.
Rookie quarterbacks went 1-1 on the day, with Dak Prescott coming up short in Dallas after Carson Wentz came out firing for Philadelphia in a blowout of the still-lowly Cleveland Browns.
“I was really impressed with Wentz,” Esposito said. “Wentz and Prescott were able to step in and play really well for rookies. Although the Cowboys lost, I thought Prescott played a really good game.”
Detroit’s Matthew Stafford topped Andrew Luck in a duel of veteran quarterbacks. In a furious finish in Indianapolis, the Lions upended the Colts 39-35.
Russell Wilson rallied Seattle to a 12-10 victory over Miami. The sluggish Seahawks were 10½-point favorites and minus-600 on the money line.
On a suspenseful Sunday, Baltimore, Houston and Minnesota covered as favorites in relatively routine fashion by NFL standards.
One of the best games was saved for last. Arizona closed as a 9-point favorite over New England, which was without suspended quarterback Tom Brady and injured tight end Rob Gronkowski. The Cardinals were connected on all kinds of parlays and teasers.
“The Patriots were almost a double-digit underdog,” Esposito said. “I can’t recall that in the Brady era.”
The Jimmy Garoppolo era kicked off with a win when the Cardinals’ Chandler Catanzaro missed a 47-yard field goal — after a bad snap — with 41 seconds left.
“It’s probably going to be the last time we’ll be rooting for the Patriots,” Kornegay said. “It felt awkward rooting for New England. But one thing is consistent – we’ll be rooting for the Browns each week.”
A wild first week is about to get better because of a Monday night doubleheader.
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 on Twitter: @mattyoumans247
