matthew-stafford-1.jpg
Imagn Images

Josh Allen continued his MVP charge Sunday, forcing sportsbooks to make big adjustments after his Bills erased a 21-0 deficit against the New England Patriots.

Caesars Sportsbook dropped Allen all the way from +1600 to +550 following Buffalo's scintillating 35-31 win.

The result simultaneiously did major damage to Drake Maye's MVP hopes; the second-year star ran for two touchdowns, but threw for just 155 yards with an interception, posting a 62.8 passer rating. Allen, by contrast, tossed three touchdowns against zero interceptions for the second straight week and posted a 123.1 passer rating.

"We saw wild up-and-down movement in the Bills-Patriots game on the MVP market," with the Patriots taking a big lead early," said Joey Feazel, head of football at Caesars Sportsbook. "The Bills were able to fight back and come out ahead, thus improving Josh Allen's MVP run, and Drake Maye's taking a hit with an uneventful second half."

When Matthew Stafford took the field later Sunday, he was in danger of losing his grip on the MVP lead with a bad performance. But the 37-year-old sentimental choice delivered as usual, leading the Rams to a 41-34 win over the Lions. Thus he cemented his status as the odds-on favorite.

Stafford completed 24 of 38 passes for 368 yards and two touchdowns, with one interception. It was the third time this season he threw for at least 368 yards.

Starting the day as a -175 favorite, Stafford closed Sunday at -250 at Caesars. Maye ballooned from +210 to +400, while Allen made the biggest move down to +550.

At the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook, Stafford began Sunday as the -180 favorite.

"I imagine he'll be a bigger favorite when we reopen [those odds] Monday," said John Murray, VP of racing and sports.

Even if the Bills win out and overtake New England for the AFC East title, Allen would need the Rams to lose their grip on the NFC's top seed to claim his second MVP award. Los Angeles' final three-game stretch begins with a critical matchup Thursday in Seattle.

Texans love

Houston has won six straight, covering five of those, after Sunday's 40-20 trouncing of visiting Arizona. Bettors believe and it's easy to see why. Over the past four games, the Texans have covered by a total of 41 points.

"The Texans are slowly becoming a team that many playoff teams might want to avoid," Feazel said. "Bettors have been noticing this for the past couple of weeks and were not hesitant to lay the 9-10 point spread on the Texans all week."

Houston closed as a 10 or 10.5-point favorite, and the game was never in doubt. The Texans led 30-7 late in the third quarter before the Cardinals scored two garbage-time touchdowns. 

For Week 16, Houston opened as a 14- or 14.5-point home favorite over the lowly Raiders.