By Dan Behringer for LVSportsBiz.com
Raiders bettors had their chances. But once again, they were disappointed.
It was Thursday Night Football and the Las Vegas Raiders and their new home, Allegiant Stadium, were again in the national spotlight vs. the Los Angeles Chargers.
The number on the silver-and-black moved from -3 to -3.5. Which may have been a bridge too far for a team that was 0-3 ATS in their last three games. If you’ll recall, that three-game downward spiral included a 43-6 blowout loss to the Atlanta Falcons, a miracle win over the then-winless New York Jets and a bruising 44-27 defeat to the Indianapolis Colts.
The Raiders and the Chargers kept bettors almost at the edge of their seats in game that was tied at 24 at the end of regulation. In between, Raiders QB Derek Carr sustained a left groin injury and was replaced by Marcus “The Flyin’ Hawaiian” Mariota.
Even then, Raiders bettors had chance. The silver-and-black sniffed the end zone on their first possession in overtime. A touchdown would have given the Raiders an outright win, enhanced their playoff chances, rewarded money line gamblers — and given them a cover. It would have also pushed the total over 52.5. Raiders/over parlay bettors might have actually moved to the edge of their seats.
Talk about suspense.
But once again, the Raiders came up empty, Once again, bettors were left to stew.
They settled for a 23-yard field goal and turned the ball over to the Chargers, who promptly marched downfield and scored the winning TD on a 1-yard plunge that was more like a hog-wrestle from Chargers QB Justin Herbert.
Game over. End of story.
“Marcus came in and did a great job. I’m really proud of him. That just puts an exclamation point on why we signed him. Just wish we could have won the game for him,” Raiders coach Jon Gruden said after the game.
Tell that to the bettors holding tickets on the Raiders. If you found the prop bet at Chargers -2.5 that paid +170, congratulations and you can buy the next round when Nevada bars are again up to full capacity. Herbert’s 314 passing yards went over the prop bet total of 281.5.
Next up for the Raiders (7-7) are the Miami Dolphins (9-5) the day after Christmas. The Raiders opened at -2 for the evening soirée at Allegiant Stadium. But the Raiders have fallen out of favor with bettors and the line has flip-flopped, making the Raiders a +2.5 home ‘dog. According to CBS Sports and the William Hill sports book, 86 percent of the action is on Miami and only 14 percent on Las Vegas.
Elsewhere:
— College football’s No. 1 rated team, Alabama, had all it wanted in a 52-46 win over Florida on Saturday in the SEC Championship. Several handicappers advised a play on the Gators as high as +17.5, and the number made it a competitive and entertaining game. The total easily cruised over 74.5, and some in-game wagering totals were substantially higher.
The Crimson Tide are now generally -19.5 vs. Notre Dame in the College Football Playoff semifinals. Clemson is around -7.5 vs. Ohio State in the other semifinal game. Both games will be played Jan. 1, and the CFP National Championship goes Jan. 11.
— The UNLV Runnin’ Rebels return to action Jan. 2. They will host San Diego State at the Thomas & Mack Center after the conference schedule was reassembled because some game were postponed over COVID-19 issues.
— Conor McGregor remains -230 vs. Dustin Poirier in UFC 257 on Jan. 23. Poirier is around +190. They last tangled in UFC 178 in 2014 in a fight that MacGregor won.
— Laugher of the week: Colorado was -22 in college hoops on Wednesday vs. Nebraska-Omaha. The Buffaloes rambled to a 47-25 first-half lead before running away with it the second half to win, 91-49. They covered the 22-point line over the Mavericks by 20 additional points.