The live betting in Sunday’s AFC Divisional Playoff game between Kansas City and Houston at Arrowhead Stadium was the type of day that gives bettors gray hairs. The spread jumped around in the first period more than a kangaroo, as Houston shot out to a three-touchdown lead in the first quarter, then added a field goal early in the second for a 24-0 lead. Going into the game, Houston was 36-1 when having a lead of 20 or more points.
Kansas City went from a -1000 at the start of the game, to a +350 in the second quarter. Then when they scored their first touchdown with under 10 minutes remaining before halftime, they went to +175. Then just before they scored again to cut the lead to 10, the Chiefs went to -120. When they scored their third straight touchdown to cut the lead to three points it was -155.
“It was just a matter of settling it down and calming the storm and making sure that our guys knocked whatever rust off and calmed down and made plays,” Reid said. “We’ve been doing that all year, and it was important we got back to doing that. We were able to rebound. A lot of teams can’t do that.”
The Chiefs are the first team in NFL postseason history to win a game by 20 or more points after trailing by 20 or more points. Kansas City head coach Andy Reid said after the 51-31 victory that the victory showed him a lot about his team.
Stat of the Week
Going into Sunday’s divisional playoff games, the under had hit in every contest. The Kansas City-Houston game broke the streak, and by a lot. The totals line closed at 51, and the Chiefs reached that all by themselves. The game finished with 82 points.
The finale of the weekend games, Seattle vs. Green Bay also easily hit the over. The line was set at 45.5, and the final score was 28-23.
Derrick Henry Runs Wild in Divisional Playoffs
Tennessee Titans running back Derrick Henry has been a monster in the playoffs, setting records and helping his team advance to the AFC Championship game against Kansas City this Sunday.
The fourth-year player, who won the Heisman Trophy for Alabama in 2015, has been on a tear in two games. Against New England, Henry rushed for 182 yards against the Patriots in the road upset.
On Sunday in the AFC Divisional Playoffs against the Ravens, Henry had 195 yards. It was the third consecutive game that Henry had rushed for 180 yards or more, the only player in history to achieve that mark.
With his 23-yard run in the 3rd quarter of the Ravens game, Henry now has more rush yards over his first four career playoff games than any other player in NFL history.
Not surprisingly though, Henry was the favorite of the four divisional playoff games to have the most rushing yards. He was a +275 choice. Green Bay’s Aaron Jones was next at +400.
Big Bets, Bad Results
While the Tennessee-Baltimore game was a killer for gamblers, there were other big losses in the divisional playoff games. One person dropped $150,000 on Minnesota on the moneyline at a William Hill sportsbook, while another bettor put $125k on Seattle at South Point in Las Vegas. Oops.
There was one bettor’s bright spot on Saturday in the Minnesota-San Francisco game.
Covers.com reported that an unidentified gambler put five wagers on the 49ers and won on four of them. He bet $150,000 on the spread of seven, $110,000 on first half spread, and $110,000 on the first half over.
He collected a $400,0000 profit.
