Raiders, Titans, Texans pull out OT wins on thrilling NFL Sunday
After the Titans’ comeback overtime win over the Eagles on Sunday, Tennessee coach Mike Vrabel joked that he needed his heart pills.
“I got a prescription,” he said. “A big bottle.”
Bettors can relate after a heart-stopping NFL Sunday that featured three overtime games.
Tennessee, which closed as a 3-point underdog to Philadelphia, overcame a 14-point third-quarter deficit, then converted three fourth downs on the winning drive in OT. Marcus Mariota hit Corey Davis for a 10-yard TD pass with five seconds left for a 26-23 win.
The Titans, who converted a fourth-and-15 on the march, faced a fourth-and-2 and had their kicker on the field for a tying 50-yard field goal try before Vrabel decided to go for it.
“He made the right call,” Westgate sports book manager Ed Salmons said. “Coaches that go for it, in the long run, that’s the way to go. Guys that kick and punt lose their jobs. You’ll see it now, all the coaches will go for it on fourth down. That’s how the winners do it.”
In the short term, Colts coach Frank Reich’s decision to go for it on a questionable fourth down in OT cost his team in a 37-34 loss to the Texans — who closed as 1-point favorites after opening as 1-point underdogs.
In a tie game with Andrew Luck on a roll, Reich rolled the dice and lost on fourth-and-4 from his own 43 with 24 seconds left. Luck’s pass was incomplete and on the next play Deshaun Watson threw a 19-yard pass to DeAndre Hopkins to set up Ka’imi Fairbairn’s winning 37-yard field goal.
“It was definitely gutsy,” Salmons said. “But if you punt, they’re probably going to tie. I don’t have any problem with it.”
$1 million bettor
Sharp bettors were on the Texans and Titans and so was a big bettor at the MGM Resorts sports book who won six-figure wagers on both teams. The bettor, who had seven figures in action Sunday, lost six-figure wagers against the spread and on the money line on the Browns, who fell 45-42 to the Raiders in OT.
“That was one of the few spots he didn’t win,” MGM Resorts sports book director Jay Rood said.
The big bettor also lost on the Bills and Steelers, who fell 26-14 to the Ravens on Sunday night as 3-point favorites.
Raiders rally
The Raiders trailed 42-34 with 1:38 left, when it appeared Carlos Hyde had rushed for a first down and the Browns would run out the clock. But the spot was overturned on a replay review.
“That was huge,” Rood said. “I don’t think anybody thought they would overturn it. Luck is fickle. It goes both ways.”
Derek Carr then threw a 7-yard TD pass to Jared Cook with 30 seconds left and tied it with a two-point conversion pass to Jordy Nelson. Matt McCrane won it with a 29-yard field goal with 1:46 left in OT to reward most Oakland bettors and burn the books.
The Raiders closed as 2½-point favorites after the line opened at 1 and also sat at 3.
It was the biggest decision of the day at the Westgate, where “everyone was on the Raiders,” and resulted in a big swing at Boyd Gaming sports book.
“It took a big chunk out of the day,” Boyd Gaming sports book director Bob Scucci said. “We definitely needed the Browns. It seemed like the Browns had that game. They should’ve won it.”
SuperContest consensus
Favorites went 7-6, with the Packers, Patriots, Jaguars, Saints and Bears popular teams that covered.
The Westgate SuperContest consensus top five, which entered with a 7-8 mark, went 2-2 with winners on the Raiders and Bengals and losers on the Colts and Giants.
The Westgate SuperContest Gold top five went 2-1-1 with winners on the Raiders and Bengals, a loser on the Giants and a push on the Seahawks.
The other pick in each contest is the Broncos, 5-point home underdogs to the Chiefs on “Monday Night Football.”
The Bengals, who closed as 3½-point underdogs after the line opened at 6, beat the Falcons 37-36 on Andy Dalton’s 13-yard TD pass to A.J. Green with seven seconds left. Cincinnati converted two fourth downs on the winning drive.
Somebody get Marvin Lewis his heart pills.
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Contact reporter Todd Dewey at tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 on Twitter.
