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10/16/2007 - (Sportsbook Betting Lines) - The week-long buildup ended in a familiar way for the New England Patriots. In the end, the Dallas Cowboys were just another opponent.
And nobody undersold it more than their quarterback.
"It's really early in the season. The reality is that it's a win on the road and we're 6-0," Tom Brady said. "Any time we're winning, I'm doing just fine. The season really doesn't start until after Thanksgiving anyway."
Brady threw a career-high five touchdown passes and the Patriots shook off their first second-half deficit of the season to beat the previously- undefeated Cowboys, 48-27, on Sunday.
If not for a Week 9 matchup with Indianapolis, it may have been the Patriots' biggest game of the season.
Dallas is the class of the NFC -- a potential Super Bowl opponent, they say -- and one of the few teams capable of challenging a New England team that now (let's face it) has a real chance to be the first undefeated NFL team since the 1972 Miami Dolphins.
But the Patriots handled them like any other team.
The Cowboys were the sixth team in a row to allow New England to score at least 34 points this season. They were the sixth consecutive Patriots opponent to lose by at least 17 points.
For a few fleeting minutes, it looked like it might be a different story.
Dallas rallied from a 14-0 deficit to pull within 21-17 at halftime, then took a 24-21 lead in the third quarter when Tony Romo capped a 74-yard drive with an eight-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Crayton.
It was the first second-half deficit levied on the Patriots this season, and the first time they trailed at all in three weeks. The response was swift: a 77-yard drive ending with a one-yard TD catch by tight end Kyle Brady.
It was the beginning of a 27-3 run to end the game.
"Hopefully we'll see them down the road," Cowboys wide receiver Terrell Owens said, a wink at the possibility of a Super Bowl meeting between the teams.
But you gotta think nobody wants to see the Patriots right now. Not even the Super Bowl-champion Indianapolis Colts, who will host the Nov. 4 meeting between the teams in what could be another matchup of undefeateds.
Following the Colts game, the toughest remaining tests for the Patriots will be contests against the Pittsburgh Steelers and the Baltimore Ravens. After that, they may be their own toughest opponent.
If they wrap up homefield advantage early, their stars would likely sit out the remaining games.
"We're trying to win as many games as we can, establish some depth and continue to get better each week," said Brady.
Underselling the hell out of it again.
TAKING PEYTON'S PLACE?
Brady is the first quarterback in NFL history to pass for three touchdowns or more in six consecutive games to begin a season. He is well ahead of the pace Peyton Manning set in 2004, when the Colts quarterback set the NFL single- season record with 49 touchdown passes.
Of course, Brady underplayed the prospect of breaking Manning's record.
"The touchdowns passes are not very important. I think winning the game is most important. Getting the team in the end zone and making first downs, there's a lot that goes into playing quarterback," said Brady.
"When you win, that's the most satisfying thing, more so than throwing a touchdown pass. I haven't thought about [the single season TD pass record] at all. I don't set my goals like that. That's not what our team's about.
"I'd love to set plenty of team records. But the individual records are based on opportunities you get. What's the difference if you throw it in from one yard or run it in. It's just a touchdown for our offense, and that's what I get excited about."
What, you expected him to brag?
RUN, RUN, RUN AWAY
The Patriots hadn't scored 48 points since racking up 50 against the Colts in 1984. They have now outscored their opponents by a 230-92 margin this season.
Much has been made of the way they've put opponents away since the cheating scandal broke following their Week 1 win against the New York Jets. Sunday's game was no different, with the Patriots tacking on a touchdown with 19 seconds remaining and already leading by 14 points.
'THE OTHER 81'
Much was made before the game about the two 81s: wide receivers Terrell Owens and Randy Moss.
Both wideouts caught six passes, with Moss' going for 59 yards and Owens' for 66. They both scored a touchdown. But only one receiver's team walked away with a victory.
"It wasn't me against him," Owens said afterward. "It's a team game. We lost the game."
UP NEXT: AT MIAMI
The Patriots will have to avoid a letdown in Miami next Sunday, where the Dolphins await with an 0-6 record. New England dropped a 21-0 decision in Miami last season that ended a seven-game road winning streak.
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Underdog bettors love the Super Bowl and, history suggests, the underdogs love them back. And the big dogs bite harder.
Even so, there is a warning in store for Super Bowl gamblers who must love dogs: The Arizona Cardinals Super Bowl betting lines might not be enough of a Cinderella to make it worth your while.
Although the Cardinals were widely panned as one of the worst division winners and least playoff-worthy teams in recent memory, their trip to Super Bowl XLIII Jan. 31 in Tampa against the Pittsburgh Steelers Super Bowl betting lines comes with a little more respect from the oddsmakers than you might imagine. They are a 7-point underdog at most sports books.
If you count yourself among those who covet the big dog in the big game, this isn’t exactly great news. You should have been hoping for more points. This is because the facts show that the bigger the dog, the better the bet in the Super Bowl.
Case in point: Over the past 13 seasons, double-figure underdogs in the Super Bowl are 4-0-1 ATS and have won the past three outright. In fact, the last double-digit chalk to do the deed for bettors was the 1995 San Francisco 49ers, who managed to beat the astounding 19-point spot afforded backers of the San Diego Chargers in the 49-26 romp in Super Bowl XXIX.
By contrast, 7-point favorites are 2-1-1 ATS in the same span, the last such contest resulting a cover grinded out by the Colts in their 29-17 win over the Bears two seasons ago in Super Bowl XLI.
In 2004, the Patriots failed to cover the number in their 32-29 triumph over the Carolina Panthers in Super Bowl props while the Rams and Titans gave everyone a refund in 2000 after the Rams posted a 23-16 win as a seven-point favorite.
So while Arizona’s run has included impressive upsets as a 10-point road underdog to the Carolina Panthers and Sunday’s 32-25 win in the NFC championship game to the 4-point favored Philadelphia Eagles, their long-shot story lacks a bit of the David vs. Goliath storyline of past Super Bowl underdogs.
While the seven-point spread represents a significant gap in the perception of strength between the two teams, it is far from monumental. For example, last season the Giants were the wild-card afterthought turned road-warrior buzzsaw, with stunning wins over the Buccaneers, Cowboys and Packers to earn their place in the Super Bowl.
There, they played spoiler to New England’s bid to become the first 19-0 team in NFL history and cemented their place in sports betting lore with a 17-14 win as a 12.5-point underdog.
In other words, the Cardinals appear to have their work cut out for them as a mid-range underdog. But in homage to the spread beaters who have come before them, here is a brief look back at recent colossal upsets in the Super Bowl:
SB XLII -- 2008 -- New York Giants 17, New England Patriots 14 (Giants +12.5) – Eli Manning’s 13-yard touchdown pass to Plaxico Burress in the final minute clinched the historic upset for the Giants, who used a masterful defensive plan to slow down Tom Brady and the previously undefeated New England Patriots.
XXXVI -- 2002 -- Patriots 20, Rams 17 (Patriots +14) – This was the coming out party for the aforementioned Brady, who went from obscure sixth-round draft pick to Super Bowl hero in one fell swoop. He led the game-winning drive in the final minute – eschewing analyst John Madden’s advice to take a knee and play for overtime – leading to Adam Vinatieri’s memorable 48-yard field goal that split the uprights as time expired.
XXXII 1998 Broncos 31, Packers 24 (Denver +12) – The first of John Elway’s two consecutive Super Bowl titles to put an end to his Hall of Fame career was an upset for the ages. The Broncos used the determination of Elway and a 157-yard, three-touchdown performance from Terrell Davis to turn back Brett Favre and the heavily favored Packers.
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