Steelers deal bad beat to Circa Survivor contestants

Imagine being 1 of the remaining 499 contestants from a tract of 4,080 inactive successful the moving to triumph $6 cardinal successful the Circa Survivor contest.

You fastener successful the Steelers implicit the winless Lions arsenic your Week 10 prime Saturday earlier the 3 p.m. introduction deadline. Then, 2 hours later, you’re dealt a brutal atrocious bushed erstwhile you perceive the quality that Pittsburgh starting backmost Ben Roethlisberger volition miss Sunday’s crippled against Detroit aft the Steelers placed him connected the team’s COVID-19 list.

Now your quest for life-changing wealth volition remainder connected the limb of backup QB Mason Rudolph.

That was the manus dealt handicapper Noah Parker and 247 different Survivor contestants who picked Pittsburgh, the astir fashionable prime this week.

The Steelers, who dropped from 8-point favorites to -5½ aft the news, trailed 16-10 successful the 2nd fractional earlier tying the crippled astatine 16 connected a 51-yard tract extremity by Chris Boswell successful the 4th quarter.

The game, which Lions manager Dan Campbell described arsenic “the twilight zone,” went into overtime, wherever some teams blew chances to score.

Rudolph recovered Diontae Johnson for a 39-yard summation into Detroit territory connected Pittsburgh’s archetypal possession. But Johnson fumbled, and the Lions recovered.

Detroit kicker Ryan Santoso past near a 48-yard field-goal effort good abbreviated to support Pittsburgh’s hopes alive. The Steelers were adjacent to field-goal scope with 9 seconds near erstwhile choky extremity Pat Freiermuth mislaid a fumble arsenic hundreds of $1,000 Survivor entries and $6 cardinal dreams disappeared.

The crippled ended successful a 16-16 necktie and, successful Survivor, ties lose. Entries indispensable prime a victor to advance.

Parker, a Las Vegas nonmigratory who played nether the alias “The Homewreckers,” said helium won $2,000 connected a hedge stake connected the Lions +7 to crook a profit. But helium said it didn’t instrumentality distant the sting of losing his changeable astatine millions.

“I don’t caput losing. It’s portion of the contest,” Parker said. “But fto maine suffer with the squad that I wanted, not immoderate BS aft the deadline wherever each of a abrupt my Hall of Fame backmost is scratched for idiosyncratic that is astir celebrated for getting deed with a helmet.

“I’m affirmative that maine and the different 247 radical would’ve ne'er utilized Pittsburgh if the starting backmost is out.”

On the agleam side, Parker was grateful helium didn’t hedge by taking the Lions connected the wealth line, which would person resulted successful a propulsion successful the lone necktie crippled this season.

At the midpoint of the 20-week Survivor contest, the tract is down to 174 aft 187 were eliminated connected the Ravens, 40 connected the Cardinals, 31 connected the Buccaneers, 5 connected the Chargers and 1 connected the Saints.

Books triumph again

Underdogs are 7-5 ATS this week with 4 outright wins by Washington (+9½), which bushed Tampa Bay 29-19; Minnesota (+3½), which bushed the Los Angeles Chargers 27-20; Carolina (+7), which whipped Arizona 34-10; and Miami (+8½), which bushed Baltimore 22-10 connected Thursday.

Las Vegas sportsbooks rode the underdogs to a coagulated triumph for the 3rd consecutive week, successful ample portion to the Football Team, which covered for lone the 2nd clip this play (2-7 ATS).

“Expect the unexpected connected a play ground successful the NFL,” Red Rock Resort sportsbook manager Chuck Esposito said. “There conscionable isn’t a ascendant squad successful either conference, extracurricular of the Titans. The lone changeless is Tennessee keeps rolling.”

Backdoor cover

The AFC-leading Titans (8-2) ran their NFL-best winning streak to six with a 23-21 triumph implicit the Saints. But their five-game screen streak came to an end.

Tennessee, a 3-point favorite, led 20-6 successful the 3rd 4th and 23-12 with little than six minutes left. New Orleans rallied for a backdoor screen erstwhile Trevor Siemian deed Marquez Callaway with a 15-yard touchdown walk with 1:16 left.

At that point, Titans bettors were hoping the Saints would necktie the crippled with a two-point conversion to springiness Tennessee different changeable astatine the cover. But Siemian’s walk fell incomplete.

Contact newsman Todd Dewey astatine tdewey@reviewjournal.com. Follow @tdewey33 connected Twitter.