Las Vegas comes up big for... Las Vegas

Down by four in the fourth quarter and facing fourthand-2 with its season on the line, the NFL team from Las Vegas fittingly rolled the dice and went for it.

The gamble paid off as Derek Carr found Hunter Renfrow for an 11-yard touchdown pass that gave the Raiders a three-point lead en route to a 23-20 victory over the Colts as 8.5-point road underdogs (and +320 on the money line).

The victory, which put Las Vegas a win away from the playoffs, was the biggest outright upset Sunday and one of the best results for the city’s sportsbooks on what they reported was a solid winning day.

“Winning outright was a huge outcome for us,” Westgate SuperBook vice president Jay Kornegay said. “That was such a gutsy win by them. I thought they might play a little inspired with (legendary coach) John Madden’s passing, and that’s what they did.

“You’ve got to give them credit for going into Indianapolis and winning because the Colts are a solid team.”

RAIDERS UNDERDOGS TO CHARGERS

The Raiders opened as 3-point home underdogs to the Chargers in Week 18’s regular-season finale at Allegiant Stadium. Win and they’re in the postseason.

“We will be cheering them on regardless of the liability next week to get them into the playoffs,” Caesars Sportsbook vice president of trading Craig Mucklow said. “It will be great for the city and great for business if they make it.”

BetMGM will lose six figures if the Raiders make the playoffs. They opened at +275 to make the postseason and closed at +225.

The betting public was all over the Colts in a game that saw the line swing from Indianapolis -7.5 to -1.5, when quarterback Carson Wentz was placed on the COVID-19 list, and back up to 6.5 when there was a chance he could play. The line soared to 8.5 on Sunday when Wentz was cleared to play.