Bettors say Cowboys have a Giant problem

Remember when Dallas was regarded as America’s Team?

Although the Cowboys still like to claim this mythical title, other NFL teams have muscled their way into the betting hearts of the country.

That’s why the New York Giants have gained the most support -- out of the eight playoff teams -- this week despite being seven-point underdogs playing at Dallas.

According to TheSpread.com’s betting chart, the Giants have picked up a whopping 72% of the bets against the spread. By comparison, Indianapolis -- the defending Super Bowl champion -- has received only 60% of the bets against the spread for today’s game against 9 1/2-point underdog San Diego.

There are several reasons why money has flowed in the direction of the Giants, who were defeated twice by the Cowboys during the regular season.

New York has won eight consecutive road games and is 6-0 against the spread in its last six road games versus a team with a winning record. The Giants are also 4-1 against the spread in their last five playoff games as a road underdog.

The Cowboys also have a few negative trends working against them. Dallas went 0-4 against the spread in its last four games of the regular season and is 1-4 against the spread in its last five playoff games.

During the regular season, AccuScore.com, which simulates every game 10,000 times, had a 165-91 record against the spread for NFL games and went 3-1 for the four wild-card games last week. That may be good news for supporters of the Giants and Chargers.

AccuScore’s simulations have the Cowboys winning 67% of the games but not covering the spread with an average score of 27-21. It’s nearly the same for the Colts, who win 70% of the games with an average score of 28-21.

Here are a few off-the-wall NFL proposition bets available at BetUs.com: Will San Diego quarterback Philip Rivers be seen shouting, talking trash (5-2); odds on San Diego’s LaDainian Tomlinson rushing, catching and passing for a touchdown (20-1); odds on Colts’ Peyton Manning completing passes to more than 6.5 receivers (10-11); odds on Giants’ Eli Manning passing for more yards than Peyton Manning (2-1), odds on Jessica Simpson attending the Cowboys’ game: yes (-115) or no (-115).

Pro Basketball

VegasInsider.com has an updated odds to win the 2008 NBA title. San Antonio opened as 4-1 favorites and is now 5-2, followed by Phoenix (9-2 to 3-1) and Boston (75-1 to 3-1). Dallas, which opened at 4-1, is at 7-2, and Detroit has moved from 15-1 to 5-1. The Lakers are 18-1 after opening 30-1. The Clippers are 150-1 after opening 35-1.

lonnie.white@latimes.com