PointsBet is paying out all win total under bets on the Dallas Cowboys to win less than 11 games, following a hand injury suffered by quarterback Dak Prescott in Sunday night's loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Prescott will undergo surgery that is expected to sideline him for 6-8 weeks, according to ESPN's Todd Archer.
EARLY PAYOUT 🚨
The Dallas Cowboys are still Not Dem Boyz, so we will be settling all Cowboys win total unders as WINS today đź’° pic.twitter.com/RsWt4YZzVs
— PointsBet Sportsbook (@PointsBetUSA) September 12, 2022
Public Rewarded for Fading Cowboys
Prior to the injury, roughly 70% of all money placed on the Cowboys' win total at PointsBet was on the under, moving the line from 10.5 wins to 9.5, according to Pat Eichner, the sportsbook's head of communications.
"Bettors were hesitant on the Cowboys’ success even prior to last night," said Eichner, who added that betting activity was consistent along both win totals.
This is the second time in less than a month PointsBet has paid out season long win total bets early after an injury.
In August the Australian-based bookmaker paid out all bets on the NBA's Oklahoma City Thunder to record under 25.5 wins, after the team announced No. 2 overall pick Chet Holmgren had suffered a season-ending foot injury. That line has since moved down to 22.5 — the lowest of any team's.
Why pay out bets early?
PointsBet first employed the tactic with NBA futures betting, paying out bets on MVP favorite Nikola Jokic to win the award, weeks before he was formally announced. The strategy puts funds to bet with back into users' accounts quicker — increasing the chances PointsBet gets them back quicker as well — and earns the sportsbook some solid PR.
Cowboys Odds Shift After Injury
Going into Sunday night, the Cowboys were +145 at PointsBet to win the NFC East, second lowest in the division at the time. Following Prescott's injury they moved to +500, which is still tied with the Washington Commanders for second lowest in the division.
Their odds to win the conference moved from +900 to +2200, ninth shortest in the NFC. Their odds to win the Super Bowl took a much larger hit after the Prescott injury — moving from +2000 to +5000.
What Life Looks Like Without Dak
Cooper Rush, who took over for Prescott in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game, is 1-0 as an NFL starter. His sole start came against the Vikings in Week 8 of the 2021 season, a 20-16 road victory, in which he threw for 308 yards, two touchdowns and one interception.
The Cowboys have the sixth easiest schedule in the league, according to The Action Network's Director of Predictive Analytics, Sean Koerner.
They're currently +7 underdogs to the reigning AFC champion Cincinnati Bengals, who they'll host next Sunday.
As of this article's writing 84% of bets and 99% of the money on the spread has come in on the Bengals, via The Action Network's app.
