NFL Week 12 betting roundup: Chiefs and Cowboys gear up for Thanksgiving, underdogs win weekend

The NFL's three-game Thanksgiving slate just got a lot more interesting -- especially from a betting perspective. The handle will be huge with three intriguing matchups.

The Kansas City Chiefs saved their season with a 23-20 overtime win over the Indianapolis Colts. But after being installed as 4.5-point road favorites over the Dallas Cowboys on the Thanksgiving lookahead line, the sportsbooks moved to Kansas City -3.5 following Sunday's results.

That's because the Cowboys were ultra-impressive and rewarded bettors' faith. They erased a 21-0 deficit vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, winning 24-21 on Brandon Aubrey's 42-yard field goal as time expired. At 5-5-1, Dallas might need to win out to make the playoffs. But with their explosive offense and revamped defense, the Cowboys are sure to draw a ton of public money just like they did against Philadelphia.

In the late game, the Ravens are laying 7.5 points to the reeling Bengals. Cincinnati has lost eight of nine but could get Joe Burrow back.

"It would certainly cross the 7 if he's active," BetMGM Trading Manager Christian Cipollini told CBS Sports.

The Ravens have won five straight, but they scored just 23 points each of the past two weeks, failing to cover against the Browns and Jets.

The massive NFC North showdown that will open the slate, Packers at Lions, has not moved from Detroit -3. The Lions (-14) were so shaky in their 34-27 overtime win over the Giants, Caesars Sportsbook moved Detroit from 11-1 to 12-1 to win the Super Bowl. Green Bay (-6.5) dispatched the Vikings 23-6 for only its second cover in the past nine games. 

Big favorites flop

Underdogs went 8-3 ATS entering Sunday Night Football, with massive dogs like Tennessee (+13), the Giants (+14), the Jets (+14) and Bengals (+7.5) all cashing. However, none of the big dogs won outright.

"The Lions-Giants matchup drew significant handle among the larger spread games," said Joey Feazel, Caesars Sportsbook's head of football. "Bettors leaned heavily toward favorites in Lions-Giants, Ravens-Jets and Patriots-Bengals, while backing the underdog in Seahawks-Titans -- a move that paid off for them. Overall, we held up well on individual matchups, but moneyline parlay bettors, especially those stacking favorites, had a strong [early] slate."

The Giants led 27-17 with 12:16 left en route to blowing their fifth fourth-quarter lead. With 2:59 to go, they could have kicked a chip-shot field goal to lead 30-24. Instead they went for it, turned it over on downs, and gave the Lions a chance to tie with a field goal. Which is exactly what happened.

In overtime, Jahmyr Gibbs raced 69 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage.

"Would have been a huge day around here if the New York Giants won that game," said John Murray, VP of race and sports at the Westgate Las Vegas SuperBook.