Eagles make bookmakers' day

For the second week in a row, the Eagles delighted not only their fans but also the bookmakers.

Among Sunday's early-afternoon NFL games, the Birds' home matchup against Atlanta was the most-bet contest at many Las Vegas casinos - and the money, both from the public and the professional bettors, was on the Falcons.

The Eagles, who were one-point favorites, easily covered the spread with their 31-17 victory behind quarterback Kevin Kolb. The week before, the preponderance of money was also on the Eagles' opponent, San Francisco, and the winning Birds covered then as well.

"I think it had to do with the [Falcons'] record," said Jay Rood, who oversees the sports and race books at the MGM Resorts casinos in Vegas. Atlanta was 4-1 entering the game. "Plus, there was the fact that [the bettors] hadn't bought in to Kolb yet."

Jay Kornegay, the Las Vegas Hilton vice president for sports and race-book operations, voiced a similar sentiment: "Kolb hasn't been getting a lot of support from the bettors . . . and there was the perception that Atlanta was the best team in the NFC, even if by default."

The little guys as well as some sharp money fared much better with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who covered a 14-point spread at home by beating Cleveland, 28-10. The eyebrow-raising twist in that one was that the Steelers, holding an 11-point lead, threw on third and 6 from the Browns' 14-yard line with about 11/2 minutes left in the game, thus scoring the touchdown that allowed them to cover.

"It's something you think about in colleges because the coach may want to keep the boosters happy," Caesars Palace sports analyst Todd Fuhrman said of piling up the points.

But in the case of the Steelers, Fuhrman said, the play selection may have had more to do with Pittsburgh's wanting to get quarterback Ben Roethlisberger "back in the swing of things." Roethlisberger was playing his first game after a four-game suspension for violating the NFL's personal-conduct standards.

The Detroit Lions, 1-5 in the NFC North, continue to be among the NFL's most-effective teams against the spread despite losing, 28-20, to the New York Giants. The Lions, who were 10-point underdogs, got inside the betting line when kicker Jason Hanson booted a 50-yard field goal for the game's final points with just under three minutes remaining.

Contact staff writer Bill Ordine

at 215-854-2939 or wordine@phillynews.com.