Bettors ride CFP, NFL favorites to extra Christmas money

’Twas the final football weekend before Christmas when bettors beat the house.

Not an underdog was stirring until the Commanders gave gamblers a reason to grouse.

The betting public collected some holiday cash as College Football Playoff favorites (Notre Dame, Penn State, Texas, Ohio State) went 4-0 against the spread in first-round games Friday and Saturday, and NFL favorites (Chiefs, Ravens) went 2-0 on Saturday, a losing day for sportsbooks.

“Overall, the NFL, with an assist from the CFP, delivered again for the customers, who enjoyed another sensational weekend of results,” Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said in an email.

Bettors continued their hot streak on NFL Sunday morning as the first five favorites covered: Bengals (-10, beat Browns 24-6), Lions (-6½, beat Bears 34-17), Falcons (-9½, beat Giants 34-7), Colts (-4, beat Titans 38-30) and Rams (-3, beat Jets 19-9).

“Most customers wisely took advantage of cashing out money-line and spread parlays after the first five favorites all won and covered (along) with both from Saturday and all four (CFP) favorites,” Mucklow said. “Money-line and spread parlay customers were 12-0 at one stage before the only two dogs barking on the early slate.”

Favorites had a shot to go 7-0 ATS in the morning games when the Cardinals (-5½) and Panthers went to overtime and the Eagles (-4) took a 33-28 lead over the Commanders with 1:58 left.

But that was enough time for Washington quarterback Jayden Daniels to work his magic once again. The rookie sensation found Jamison Crowder in the end zone with six seconds left for his fifth touchdown pass to give the Commanders a 36-33 comeback win and bail out the books — which also won on Carolina’s 36-30 victory over Arizona.

“The Commanders game changed the entire complexion of the day,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook director Chuck Esposito said. “Getting them to win the game outright was paramount for us. It really averted disaster. It would’ve been one of our worst Sundays of the year if we didn’t get those two early games in.”

Six-figure swings

While the Commanders’ comeback saved the day for Station Sports, and the Lions were one of the best wins for Caesars bettors, the results were flipped at BetMGM.

“We had two big six-figure bets. One guy had the Commanders +4, and another guy had the Bears +7,” MGM Resorts director of trading Lamarr Mitchell said. “We needed the Eagles, one of the favorites that didn’t cover. That was a bad decision for the house, which usually doesn’t happen.”

BetMGM was still a small winner Sunday.

“The public got the better of us (Saturday) with all the favorites taking care of business,” Mitchell said. “And (on Sunday) we got back about half of what they won.”

NFL favorites are 10-5 ATS in Week 16 after the Patriots (+14, lost to Bills 24-21) and Dolphins (+2, beat 49ers 29-17) covered Sunday afternoon, and the Cowboys (+4½) beat the Buccaneers 26-24 on “Sunday Night Football.”

Raiders end slide

The Raiders edged the Jaguars 19-14 to snap their 10-game losing streak and cover as 2½-point favorites. But even when the Raiders win, they lose. The victory ran their record to 3-12 (tied with the Jaguars, Titans, Browns and Patriots), a game better than the Giants (2-13), who now own the No. 1 pick in the NFL draft.

As it stands, the Raiders have fallen to the No. 6 pick.

Survivor

Only 45 Circa Survivor contestants remain in the hunt for the $14.3 million prize after four were eliminated by the Cardinals and one by the Bucs. Twenty-one selected the Packers, 14-point home favorites over the Saints on “Monday Night Football.”

CFP quarterfinals

Penn State, which whipped SMU 38-10 as a 9-point favorite, is favored by 11 over Boise State on New Year’s Eve in the Fiesta Bowl.

Texas, which topped Clemson 38-24 as a 13½-point favorite, is favored by 14 over Arizona State in the Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day.

Notre Dame, which beat Indiana 27-17 as a 7-point favorite, is a 1½-point underdog to Georgia in the Sugar Bowl (Jan. 1).

No. 8 Ohio State, which trounced Tennessee 42-17 as a 7-point favorite, is favored by 2½ over No. 1 Oregon in the Rose Bowl (Jan. 1).

“I was a bit surprised to see Ohio State become more than a 1-point favorite,” Caesars head of football Joey Feazel said. “Will be interested to see if Ohio State becomes a stronger favorite after that big performance or if the line dials back a bit.

“We opened up with Georgia as a favorite when the market was pick’em, saw slight Notre Dame money but settled back as Georgia a small favorite.”

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