To the victor belongs the sportsbook spoils. The Dallas Cowboys have pounded that message home to New Jersey online sports bettors regarding the NFC East entering NFL Week 4.
NJ online sports betting operators have adjusted division odds to reflect Dallas’ 41-21 whipping of the Philadelphia Eagles on Monday Night Football. It brought the Cowboys to 2-1, the lone record above .500, and a one-game division lead that looks like much more.
It also prompted most books to list Dallas at -200 or better to capture the division.
Here was the first NFC East update at DraftKings Sportsbook:
- Dallas -225
- Washington +400
- Eagles +600
- New York Giants +1600
And here is the Week 4 schedule involving NFC East teams:
- Eagles vs. Kansas City Chiefs, 1 p.m.
- Giants at New Orleans Saints, 1 p.m.
- Washington at Atlanta Falcons, 1 p.m.
- Dallas vs. Carolina Panthers, 1 p.m.
Dallas is NFC East favorite, as long as it’s Dak
The Cowboys look head and shoulders above the rest of the division as they prepare to host the unbeaten Carolina Panthers as a decided favorite.
Quarterback Dak Prescott has been solid in three games back from a season-ending 2020 injury. He has this team clicking.
Dallas’ offensive line is blowing open big holes for Zeke Elliott and Tony Pollard. Dalton Schultz is a solid tight end. He scored for the Cowboys Monday night and had six catches for 80 yards.
That’s before one even mentions CeeDee Lamb and Amari Cooper as star-studded receivers.
Defensively, the Cowboys deserve credit for emphasizing that in the NFL Draft. Micah Parsons, their first-round pick, has made an exceptional impact. The Cowboys, a defensive laughingstock last year, lead the NFC in takeaways. Go figure.
If you’re looking at betting angles for this week’s Cowboys game, the pieces are in place for a high-scoring team, with an opportunistic defense. They face former New York Jets QB Sam Darnold this weekend.
Eagles: Numbers do lie
What would New Jersey bettors have thought about these figures prior to the 41-21 shellacking?
That Jalen Hurts would throw for 326 yards compared to 238 for Prescott?
That the Eagles defense would sack Prescott four times?
That the Eagles defense would score a touchdown? (BetMGM customers who wagered on the Eagles defense scoring the first touchdown put +2500 into their accounts).
Put it in the bank, right?
Unfortunately for the Eagles, much of Hurts’ production came in garbage time. Hurts threw a pick 6 himself and Philadelphia called just three running plays.
Garbage time nonetheless saved many New Jersey bettors.
They caught a massive break when Hurts remained in a game the Eagles trailed 41-14 in the final minutes. On the last drive, Hurts:
- Exceeded his threshold of 34.5 pass attempts at DraftKings, finishing with 36
- Hit his combined yardage prop of more than 350 yards, worth a payout of +250 at DraftKings
- Obtained his second TD pass, clearing the “over 1.5” threshold at DraftKings, Caesars, and FanDuel sportsbooks.
Earlier, he satisfied the over 0.5 and over 1.5 interception props at the books by throwing two
Keep this in mind for Hurts going forward. The Eagles play the Kansas City Chiefs in an expected shootout and with the return of former Eagles coach Andy Reid, who pilots Kansas City.
DraftKings extra: Bettor misses big payout by 1 yard
The Eagles put an unusual end to a looming prop-of-the-year candidate Monday night.
Johnny Avello, the director of race and sportsbook operations for DraftKings, comes across all kinds of betting hits and near-misses. He shared this one with play-nj.com.
“A bettor had this rare ticket of taking the first touchdown scorers in three separate games,” Avello noted. “Hitting one is great. That’s hard enough. But three?”
Indeed.
The bettor had put $10 on the ticket to return $11,390.
The player had tight end Tyler Higbee of the Los Angeles Rams first against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. That was +1400
Next came Davante Adams of the Green Bay Packers against the San Francisco 49ers at +700. Put it in the book.
“You just know who he had third, don’t you?” Avello inquired.
Yes, we do. It was Lamb of the Cowboys. Lamb was stopped a foot short by the Eagles after bringing down a 44-yard bomb on the first series.
A foot. For 11 G’s.
Ouch.
Imagine the palpitation of that gambler. And multiply it by the thousands of hits and near misses every week in the NFL
On the MNF telecast, analyst Peyton Manning first thought Lamb had gotten in. And then he joked that “it’s illegal to put a guy down at the one”. Former Giants quarterback Eli Manning added: “there’s no way a receiver can be tackled at the one on a pass play.”
On the next play, Elliott toted it in for Dallas. It was +650 for anybody who had that.
Big Blue singing the NFC East blues
Who thought the Giants would be 0-3 and more than a touchdown underdog when they visit the New Orleans Saints, headed by Jameis Winston?
It’s a rematch of quarterback Daniel Jones’ first game, two years ago, when Winston played for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Jones stole the show. He ran in the winning touchdown and the Giants prevailed.
“Daniel Jones era off to a rousing start in NY,” one headline read.
Rousing has become grousing by New York fans, who see the team still struggling.
For his part, Jones at least has avoided throwing picks. Will he be reawakened in the rematch with Winston, who was a backup to the now-retired Drew Brees last year?
Some suggest the Giants will at least play tough here.
Washington flipping the script
A major surprise in this division has been the vaunted Washington D. Where is it?
Remember this team, the one which outscored its own offense and tallied two scores in a key 2020 win over the San Francisco 49ers?
Don’t look now, but the defending division champs have yielded 72 points in the last two games. That includes 29 to the Giants in Week 2 and a league-high 43 against the Buffalo Bills last week.
Washington has a better offense and worst defense than last year. “Over” bettors will take a hard look at that 47 number.
AP Photo/Michael Ainsworth
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