Brandon Aubrey is as automatic as they come, especially from deep.
He’d made 16 straight field goals of 50 yards or more to start his career, which was the longest streak in NFL history. He also crushed a 60-yarder earlier in the game straight through the uprights that would have been from at least another five yards back.
So, a public that was heavily on the Cowboys covering 5.5 points felt great after the Giants got a third-down stop in the final seconds of the game. Instead of getting a first and Dak Prescott taking a knee for a 20-15 win, Brandon Aubrey trotted onto the field with his reliable right leg ready to deliver the last-second cover.
Instead, something happened for the first time in Aubrey’s career.
He missed it from 52 yards out.
The result was an absolute disaster for the public as they hammered the Cowboys, laying the points. 81% of all bets and 78% of the money at DraftKings backed Dallas, while over 75% of all tickets and money at BetMGM also took the Cowboys to cover. Meanwhile, if you add in parlays, 98% of bets at BetMGM involved the Cowboys covering.
Some books closed with the Cowboys laying six points. The Giants’ unlikely cover now means underdogs of six-plus points are 13-1 this season. Dogs getting that many points have never finished at 70% ATS or higher in September since 1978, according to Director of Research Evan Abrams.
Perhaps some measure of solace for the public is that the missed field goal caused a popular prop to hit. Over 99% of bets at BetMGM were on Daniel Jones to throw an interception. It looked like a doomed prop until the much-maligned quarterback heaved a desperation Hail Mary with five seconds left in the game that was picked off by Amani Oruwariye.
