Bad beats: Rams’ meaningless field goal vs. 49ers proves meaningful for some angry bettors
Down by 10 with just a few seconds left, the Rams elected to kick a field goal instead of attempting a late touchdown, achieving the backdoor cover.
The theme of the weekend across the NFL and college football was second-half comebacks, from the New York Giants bouncing back from 21 points down against the Arizona Cardinals to the No. 19 Colorado Buffaloes overcoming a 28-17 fourth-quarter deficit to defeat Colorado State in double overtime.
However, nothing is worse for a sports bettor than having action on a game that is already decided but the point spread still remains in the balance. A handful of games this weekend had a clear winner, but the backdoor cover turned potential bet wins into bad beats.
Here’s a look at the worst betting turns from the last week in sports.
Bad beat No. 1: Rams kick late field goal down 10 against 49ers
By the time the Rams and 49ers kicked off Sunday, San Francisco’s closing line ranged from 7 to 7.5-points depending on the sportsbook. The 49ers pulled away late in the fourth quarter to win after the game was tied at the half, but everyone is talking about a late decision made by Los Angeles to take points in an already decided game.
With a minute and a half remaining, the Rams, down 30-20, used a methodical 11-play, 50 yard drive to move into 49ers territory. After a 17-yard completion to Puka Nacua to get into the red zone, Matthew Stafford spiked the ball with four seconds remaining and the Rams elected to take a late field goal at the San Francisco 20 yard line, instead of trying to score a touchdown. Brett Maher nailed a 38-yard field goal as time expired, achieving the backdoor cover.
A brutal beat for 49ers bettors.
» READ MORE: Bad beats: Oregon-Texas Tech finish tops worst betting beats from the football weekend
Bad beat: Ole Miss scores late touchdown against Georgia Tech up 18 points
No. 15 Ole Miss hosted Georgia Tech on Saturday and it went about as you would expect, with the Rebels racing out to a 24-3 third-quarter lead until the Yellow Jackets pulled within a touchdown midway through the fourth quarter.
After back-to-back Ole Miss touchdowns padded the lead to 41-17, Georgia Tech responded with a 14-yard touchdown throw by Haynes King to cut the advantage to 41-23 with less than two minutes left in the game. The Yellow Jackets entered the game as 18.5-point underdogs, and looked well on their way to covering the spread.
Until they didn’t. Ole Miss running back Matt Jones had other plans. On his first carry of the night, Jones broke away for a 36-yard touchdown run, resulting in yet another bad beat via backdoor cover.
A few weeks ago, West Virginia bettors lost in similar fashion, when Penn State scored a late touchdown to cover a 21-point spread.