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Bettors almost hit middle in Bills-Vikings on mixed day for books

Bettors were in position to hit an elusive middle — win on both sides — of the Bills-Vikings game after Buffalo fluctuated from a 3- to 7½-point favorite during the week.

The line moved around because of the uncertain status of Bills quarterback Josh Allen, who started Sunday after being questionable with an elbow injury.

Minnesota trailed 27-10 late in the third quarter before mounting a comeback. After C.J. Ham scored a touchdown with 4:34 left to make it 27-23, Greg Joseph missed the extra point to give virtually all bettors on the game a chance to cash their tickets.

Gamblers who took the Vikings at the closing line of +6½ and Buffalo -3 or -3½ would’ve both won had that score gone final. But Minnesota rallied for an improbable 33-30 overtime victory.

After the Bills made a goal-line stand to stop the Vikings at the 1-yard line with 41 seconds left, their 27-23 win appeared to be a lock.

But Allen fumbled the ensuing snap in the end zone, and Minnesota recovered to go ahead 30-27. Buffalo tied it on a field goal with two seconds left, but the Vikings kicked a field goal in OT and held on for the win when Allen threw a game-ending interception in the end zone.

“We could’ve got middled anywhere from 3 to 7,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “We were rooting for the Vikings to win outright.”

Bettors lost on Buffalo at Station Casinos and the Westgate SuperBook but won on the Vikings at Caesars, which took large bets on the money line early in the week.

“The bettors got the better of us on that one, for sure,” Caesars vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said.

Early winners, late losers

The betting public won on the early games, as favorites went 6-2 ATS, with the Bills and the Bears the only losers. But bettors lost all three afternoon games, as underdogs went 3-0 ATS with three outright wins by the Packers (+3½, beat Cowboys 31-28 in OT), Cardinals (+3½, beat Rams 27-17) and Colts (+4, beat Raiders 25-20).

BetMGM was a loser, partly because of a casino player who won $800,000 on $440,000 straight bets on the Giants (-4½, beat Texans 24-16) and Steelers (-1, beat Saints 20-10).

“The public beat us pretty good,” MGM Resorts director of trading Lamarr Mitchell said.

Caesars, Station Casinos, South Point and the SuperBook had winning days.

“We don’t need a wheelbarrow, but it was a good day,” SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said.

Chicago, a 3-point favorite, blew a 24-10 fourth-quarter lead in a 31-30 loss to the Lions.

Justin Fields scored on a 67-yard TD run to put the Bears up 30-24, but Cairo Santos missed the extra point. That proved costly when Detroit scored with 2:21 left to go ahead.

Dallas squandered a 28-14 fourth-quarter lead at Green Bay.

Bills still favorites

The Bills (6-3) are now tied for second place with the Jets in the AFC East behind the Dolphins (7-3). But Buffalo remains the -180 favorite at Caesars to win the division and the +375 favorite to win the Super Bowl.

The Chiefs, who covered -9½ in a 27-17 win over the Jaguars, are the +475 second choice, followed by the Eagles at 5-1 and the Vikings and 49ers at 12-1.

“The Bills have been the Super Bowl favorite all year long. We’re not ready to give up on them,” Caesars assistant director of trading Adam Pullen said. “They’ve lost two in a row, and their odds have gone up a little bit. But we’re not going to go too crazy.”

Miami (-3) crushed Cleveland 39-17 in a big win for bettors.

“Give the Dolphins credit,” Esposito said. “Their offense looks video game-esque.”

Fading Raiders

Bettors at Station Casinos and BetMGM lost big for the third straight week on the Raiders (2-7, 3-6 ATS), who allowed Matt Ryan, 37, to scramble for a career-long 39-yard run on the Colts’ game-winning drive. Two plays later, he threw a 35-yard TD pass to Parris Campbell.

Jeff Saturday won on the road in his debut as Indianapolis coach after making the jump from ESPN with no NFL or college coaching experience. Why can’t the Raiders get guys like that?

Caesars and the Westgate lost on the game.

“We had sharp and public play on the Colts. We actually needed the Raiders, which is a rarity,” Kornegay said. “When a team underperforms for a number of weeks, bettors don’t just keep betting them with both hands. They shy away and, in this case, start playing the other side.”

Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.

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