Somer

[Scav]

I think this was exactly what I was saying, especially in bold.....from drf sports section

Bears steal victory; so do the books
By DAVE TULEY
By the time you read this, the Bears’ 24-23 come-from-behind victory over the Cardinals will have been analyzed ad nauseum. But what you might not have heard discussed in the mainstream media is that it was just about the perfect result for bookmakers.
As the ultimate get-out game for bettors, “Monday Night Football” is always one of the most heavily bet games of the weekend. Add in all the hype with the Bears leading the league in scoring offense and scoring defense, and the talk of an undefeated season, and the public was falling over itself to bet the Bears no matter the price. The game opened Bears –9?1/2 at most books and got steamed to 13 and even 14 at some locales Monday. Bookmakers were obviously in need of a Cardinals’ cover to avoid giving back a lot of their profits from the weekend, especially since there were a lot of live parlays and teasers tied to the Bears.

As the Bears fell further and further behind, it looked good for the books, but it got even better when the Bears rallied, because the books love it when a favorite wins a game but doesn’t cover. Some books don’t put up a money line when an NFL spread is more than 10 points, but those that did were looking to have to pay out 5-1 to 6-1 on an outright Cardinals’ victory.
With most teasers tied to the Bears, about the only thing the books lost on was the over, which was bet from 38 to 40 1/2, but the books will take that tradeoff any day of the week.

The game capped a roller-coaster ride for books and bettors in Week 6 of the NFL. In the early games Sunday, underdogs covered seven of the eight early games, killing a lot of parlay action. Bettors got some back in the games that began at 1:15 p.m. Pacific, as favorites won and covered all three games and all three went over the total. But the party was over for bettors after that. The Broncos failed to cover the 15-point spread in a 13-3 win Sunday night, and then the Bears failed to cover in the Monday night game.

[SniperSB23]

I agree that the scenario worked out perfect for bookies. However a home underdog covering on MNF is a normal occurence and I think suggestions that the game was fixed are ridiculous. It is way too hard to do in football especially with all the film breakdown that goes on at the NFL level. Not to mention that NFL players are paid enough that it isn't necessary for them to take the risk. Leave the fixing to college basketball and Irish jockeys.