The Carolina Panthers may have been named to honour a beast from the cat world, but they were one of the liveliest underdogs on the Sunday betting board.
From our newsroom to your inbox at noon, the latest headlines, stories, opinion and photos from the Toronto Sun.
Thanks for signing up!
A welcome email is on its way. If you don't see it, please check your junk folder.
The next issue of Your Midday Sun will soon be in your inbox.
Not only did Baker Mayfield and Carolina cover as three-point home underdogs to the Saints, they won outright, 22-14.
Of note, the Panthers ended a dubious streak of nine consecutive games without rewarding their betting backers with a cover, the longest active skein in the league. According to Caesar’s, it was the longest such streak since the Raiders had 10 consecutive non covers extending from 2005-2006.
Some other Week 3 observations:
- Beware Aaron Rodgers as an underdog. Though it was a defensively dominated game on both sides, Rodgers and the Packers got the best of Tom Brady and the Bucs in a 14-12 win in the marquee late start. With the Pack covering as one-point road dogs, since 2019 Rodgers is now 9-3 against the spread when his team is getting points.
- Another QB who is dynamite as a dog would be the Dolphins’ Tua Tagovailoa, who is now 9-3-1 against the spread in the underdog role (also since 2019.) Tua was helped generously by the loss of almost the entire Bills defence to injury in a game that saw Buffalo favoured by six (before the injury report) and 4.5 points (at kickoff.) Of course the Fish won outright, 21-19.
- Under bettors are often said to be on the “right” side – in terms of value as opposed to the “fun” side – in terms of betting entertainment. Prior to the Sunday nighter, the under went 7-6 on Sunday continuing an impressive run so far. Through three weeks, under have a 28-16-1 edge to the score-loving over crowd. No surprise, really, since through Weeks 1 and 2 games were averaging just 42.8 points, the lowest average in a decade.
- Helped by a 3-1 record in the late Sunday afternoon starts, underdogs had a 7-6 edge against the spread on the day. Of note – all three of the covering dogs (Green Bay, Jacksonville and Atlanta) also won outright.
- Another spot where underdogs had been shining was on prime time games, holding a 5-0 record against the spread heading into last Monday night. That screeched to a halt, however as both MNF faves covered, as did the Browns against the Steelers on Thursday.