Monday night's matchup between the Chiefs and Rams was a shootout for the ages, two high-powered offenses just firing laser beams at one another through four quarters, piling up the points in a preview of what's to come for the NFL in the future. Vegas might not like that future, or at least the adjustment to it, because it took a pretty big hit on Monday night.
At one point the live over-under (certain sites allow you to bet in-game on the outcome at breaks in the action) was a never-before-seen 104.5, a triple-digit over-under that actually got covered thanks to the Chiefs and Rams playing the first-ever game featuring two teams that scored 50+ points.
The result for Las Vegas wasn't quite as fun, as sportsbooks took a bath on everyone hammering the over bet, with William Hill telling ESPN that it suffered a "heathy seven-figure loss" during the game.
The over-under was initially set at 63 when the game was scheduled to be played in Mexico City. And while the spread changed when the game was moved to Los Angeles after field conditions created a safety concern, the over-under remained the same when the game was rescheduled for L.A.
Per William Hill, 69 percent of the people betting on the total were taking the over.
Listen to Brady Quinn and Will Brinson break down the Chiefs-Rams insanity on the Pick Six Podcast.
There's a good chance that a lot of action came in on live betting as well. At various points early on, the live total climbed as high as 74.5 -- in hindsight that's a laughable number. It sort of stagnated as the two teams appeared headed for a 17-16 halftime score, but both the Chiefs and Rams manage to sneak in a touchdown before the two-minute warning.
Los Angeles got one when Patrick Mahomes threw a pick six and the Chiefs would soar back down the field and answer that score on a touchdown pass from Mahomes to Chris Conley with just seconds remaining. A Harrison Butker missed extra point -- there were two of those in this game! -- sent the game to halftime at 23-23.
The first half over-under of 31.5 got smashed. So did the second half over-under of 34.5, which was blasted by 24 points, with the two teams combining for 59 points in the second half. It would be hard to believe that anyone who watched the first half decided to bet on the under for the second half -- there probably were people who did it, but I would guess that once again more than 60 percent of bettors hit the over in that situation as well.
In short, this was a perfect storm for the betting public, with two of the biggest public teams and two of the highest scoring teams going head-to-head and shattering every expectation for the total in this game.
Next up for the Chiefs is a bye and then a trip to Oakland in Week 13 (4:05 p.m. ET, CBS, stream on CBS All Access or stream on fuboTV, try for free). The Rams also have a bye in Week 12 before traveling to Detroit in Week 13 (1 p.m. ET, Fox or stream on fuboTV , try for free).
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