Surely, they did.
The line this week was set at 4 1/2 points. Almost immediately, it dropped to four, and has remained there all week.
What gives?
"People just aren't ready to buy into Dallas," said Mike Seba, a senior oddsmaker with LVSC. "All year long, Philly looked to a lot of people - and I'm one of them - as a team that could get to the Super Bowl."
Did 24-zip change that perception to bettors? Less than it did here, it seems. It wasn't just the Eagles' injuries or the close first game, either. The oddsmakers threw the final score out the window, too. "The Eagles had a bad first half, and then they made a decision to play for next week," Seba said. "I'm not saying they packed it in, but you didn't see much after that. They made a decision to keep stuff in their pocket and play for next week."
There is also that lingering doubt about the Cowboys due to their dismal playoff history under Wade Phillips and Tony
Romo.
"I think people are thinking about the past, when the Cowboys have played great and then fallen on their faces," Seba said.
Here's how the line was set: After the late games finished Sunday, four men adjourned to a table with information collected from games and reports, and with their own inklings and biases as well. Seba, Dan O'Brien, Sean Van Patten and Kenny White, the CEO of LVSC, each handicapped this weekend's game, and a debate began.
All four arrived at a different spread for the game, ranging from a low of 3 1/2 to five. Seba
arrived at 4 1/2, even though his math told him otherwise. "My power rating for the game was a six-point spread," he said. "You can't make it six, though, because it's just an automatic take."
