Bookmakers far and wide were terrified of what was about to happen before the Rams – Chiefs game kicked off on Monday Night. The books were like criminals waiting to be hanged in medieval times with only a remote chance the gallows would malfunction. The game ended up being an absolute shootout and nothing could stop the over from coming in and all the bookmakers from getting hammered on the game. Nothing could even stop the in-game totals that were being posted, despite going higher and higher all game long. Two high-powered offenses just firing cannons at one another.
At one point the in-game over-under was a never-before-seen 104.5, a triple-digit over-under that actually got covered thanks to the Chiefs and Rams playing the first-ever game featuring two teams that scored 50+ points.
The result for Las Vegas and New Jersey wasn’t quite as fun, as sportsbooks took a bath on everyone hammering the over bet, with many including William Hill informing the press that it took a seven figure loss.
The over-under was initially set at 63 when the game was scheduled to be played in Mexico City. The spread changed by a full point when the game was moved to Los Angeles after field conditions created a safety concern. But the total stayed the same.
Most sportsbooks, including play for fun websites like Wannamakeabet.com were seeing more than 70% of the action on the over. You had to wonder if there was even a place that would take the layoff bets from the bigger books in Vegas.
At various points early on, the live total climbed as high as 74.5 — in hindsight that’s a laughable number. It sort of stagnated as the two teams appeared headed for a 17-16 halftime score, but both the Chiefs and Rams manage to sneak in a touchdown before the two-minute warning.
Los Angeles got one when Patrick Mahomes threw a pick six and the Chiefs would soar back down the field and answer that score on a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Chris Conley with just seconds remaining. A Harrison Butker missed extra point — there were two of those in this game! — sent the game to halftime at 23-23.
The first half over-under of 31.5 got smashed. So did the second half over-under of 34.5, which was blasted by 24 points, with the two teams combining for 59 points in the second half. It would be hard to believe that anyone who watched the first half decided to bet on the under for the second half — there probably were people who did it, but I would guess that once again more than 60 percent of bettors hit the over in that situation as well.
In short, this was a perfect storm for the betting public, with two of the biggest public teams and two of the highest scoring teams going head-to-head and shattering every expectation for the total in this game.
Jack Kincaid is a senior NFL analyst for Wannamakeabet.com