Sunday was yet another long day in and out of the Tuley’s Takes home office as we continued covering (and betting) NFL Super Wild Card Weekend.
I started the day at my usual Sunday spot in the Westgate Theater and ended it at the Circa sportsbook, where I also made my regular weekly appearance in the VSiN Studio on “The Greg Peterson Experience” (12:15 a.m. ET/9 p.m. PT Sunday nights, or 15 minutes into the archived version). I won my Best Bet of the day (and the entire weekend) on the Dolphins +14 at the Bills in their hard-fought 34-31 loss. That improved our record on Peterson’s show to 34-20 (63%) since the start of the football season and 21-11 ATS (65.6%) since the start of November, with the vast majority being on early bets on the NFL. We still have Buccaneers +3 pending from last Sunday night’s show. More on that below. It was a banner day for underdog bettors as they swept 3-0 ATS on Sunday and are 4-1 ATS heading into the Monday night game. That’s despite favorites leading 3-2 SU. With the Bills and Bengals both failing to cover, we weren’t hearing anything on Sunday night from the “you just have to pick the winner because either the fave will cover or the dog will win outright” and “point spreads don't matter in the NFL Wild Card Round” crowds. Crickets. We also cleaned up on 2-team, 6-point teasers as we had the Jaguars +8.5 from Saturday night carrying over to the Giants +9 (they upset the Vikings 31-24) and the Bengals -2.5 (they beat the Ravens 24-17), plus the Buccaneers +8.5 on Monday night. More on that below. Let’s recap the rest of Sunday’s action and then give out Best Bet for Monday Night Football (pretty much the worst-kept secret as, like I said, I gave it out last Sunday night and in my columns every day since as well as the VSiN daily updates and the VSiN Best Bets compilation story at VSiN.com). I also have an early play for the divisional playoff round, plus an NHL First-Period Over play for Monday.Sunday Recaps
NFL: Bengals held off Ravens 24-17 Sunday night with the pivotal play being Sam Hubbard's 98-yard fumble return for the go-ahead TD when the Ravens were trying to go ahead on a QB sneak. But the ViewFromVegas is the Bengals did NOT cover after closing as 7.5-point home favorites (game went just Over the consensus closing total of 40 points, though it opened 43.5 and early Under bettors cashed).
More NFL: Faves led 2-1 SU on Sunday and lead 3-2 SU so far in the Wild Card round, but dogs swept 3-0 ATS and lead 4-1 ATS overall. Home teams led 2-1 SU on Sunday and are 4-1 SU overall, but roads teams swept 3-0 ATS & lead 3-2 ATS overall. Overs swept 3-0 on Sunday and are a perfect 5-0.
Even more NFL: Bills held off Dolphins 34-31 in Sunday's first Wild Card Game. The ViewFromVegas is they did NOT cover after closing as 14-point home favorites (game flew Over betting total of 44.5 points). Giants upset Vikings 31-24 as 3-point road underdogs and +133 on the money line (went Over 48 points).