National Football League

NFL odds Week 9: Wacky wins and bad beats

Updated Nov. 7, 2022 1:32 p.m. ET

It was another wild NFL Sunday! Bettors with an interest in the Los Angeles Chargers-Atlanta Falcons game witnessed an unusual play that affected the outcome as the Chargers won 20-17 on Sunday.

Each team fumbled on the same play late in the fourth quarter, which benefited the Chargers, who later kicked the winning field goal on the final play to cover the spread by the thinnest of margins – a half-point.

Welcome to the world of wacky wins and bad beats in sports betting.

Each week, we'll recap the betting plays that had some people cashing in and others tearing up their tickets in frustration. To paraphrase famed broadcaster Al Michaels, "those plays are significant to some."

Let's dive into this week's craziness!

Another Brady comeback

Tampa Bay Buccaneers quarterback Tom Brady rallied for another come-from-behind victory, this time to the chagrin of the Los Angeles Rams and their bettors.

Those gamblers (moneyline and spread) were less than a minute from cashing in, but Brady and the Bucs rallied from a 13-6 fourth-quarter deficit for a 16-13 victory Sunday.

Trailing 13-9, the Bucs (+2.5 and out of time outs) took over at their 40-yard line with 44 seconds to go.

But, this wasn't Brady's first rodeo …

Brady completed a 28-yard pass to tight end Cade Otton to the Rams' 32 on the first play, then spiked the ball to stop the clock with 28 seconds left.

Brady then went on to complete passes of 4, 14 and 7 yards and the receivers got out of bounds as Tampa Bay drove to the LA 7 with 16 seconds to go. The Rams then got called for pass interference, giving the Bucs the ball at the 1 with 13 seconds to go.

And then Brady did it again, as he connected with Otton in the right flat for the winning touchdown.

It was the Brady's 55th game-winning drive, most in history.

Sorry, Rams bettors.

Chargers, Falcons fumble twice on the same play

The Los Angeles Chargers and the Atlanta Falcons both fumbled within a matter of seconds.

Double fumble dooms some bettors

The Chargers (-2.5 points) and Falcons were tied 17-17 when Los Angeles marched down the field late in the game.

On third down and 4 from the Atlanta 22 with less than a minute remaining, Chargers running back Austin Ekeler fumbled after a short gain.

Falcons defensive tackle Ta'Quon Graham picked up the fumble and ran about 20 yards but dropped the football. Chargers guard Matt Feiler recovered Graham's fumble at the Atlanta 43 with 34 seconds remaining.

After that crazy sequence, the Chargers completed a pass for 21 yards, ran for 2 yards, then called time out with 2 seconds remaining.

Cameron Dicker, the third kicker for the Chargers this season, kicked the winning 37-yard field goal as time expired.

Adding to the agony of Falcons bettors was a missed opportunity early in the fourth quarter. Kicker Younghoe Koo missed a 50-yard field goal attempt which would've extended Atlanta's lead to 20-14.

Penalty destroys parlay

Not only did the New York Jets shut down the Buffalo Bills 20-17, Gang Green held Bills receiver Stefon Diggs to under 100 receiving yards, which cost a parlay bettor.

The bettor hit the first two parts of his three-leg parlay, all involving a receiver having more than 100 yards receiving Sunday.

Diggs finished with five catches for 93 yards.

Of course, there's more to this story and why it is in this section. Diggs had a 26-yard catch wiped out by a holding penalty on the first play of Buffalo's final drive, then a deep pass to Diggs was incomplete with 30 seconds to go.

Had Diggs topped 100 yards receiving, the $5 parlay bet (+2007) would've paid $105.35.

On the bright side for Jets bettors, they not only covered +10.5 points but won straight up as +375 underdogs.

Packers don't pay off for bettor

A bettor had a five-way NFL parlay and hit four of the legs.

The fifth was Green Bay Packers running back Aaron Jones scoring a touchdown against the Detroit Lions.

Jones never hit paydirt Sunday, as he got injured during the game. Also not helping matters, Aaron Rodgers threw three interceptions, matching his career-worst. All three passes were picked off inside the red zone. Jones has scored four TDs this season, three receiving, one rushing.

Had the bettor hit, the $10 wager would've paid $382.54.

Big bet on Patriots

With all the focus on bad beats, it's nice to single out when a bettor's bold bet cashes in. And a bettor's faith in the New England Patriots paid off big after a 26-3 win over the Indianapolis Colts.

Ben Fawkes of VSiN tweeted after a $500,000 bet was placed on the Patriots (-5.5) to beat the Colts. Fawkes tweeted it was the largest single-game NFL wager this season (so far).

Of course, another big bettor took the other side:

The Patriots cruised to a 26-3 win.

Taking a knee costs bettor

A bettor who made a five-way parlay on the Philadelphia Eagles' 29-17 win over the Houston Texans on Thursday night went from euphoric to devastated, thanks to a pair of kneel downs by QB Jalen Hurts as the clock wound down.

Hurts scrambled for 14 yards on third-and-15 with less than two minutes remaining. The Eagles went for it, and Hurts gained a yard for a first down, giving him 25 rushing yards with 90 seconds to go.

Instead of running a QB sneak to pick up a yard or two, Hurts twice took a knee, losing a yard each time to finish with 23 rushing yards.

The bettor's five-way parlay was at +401, which meant a $10 wager would've paid $50.10 total.

Multiple others lost on this end-of-game sequence. Not fun.

J-E-T-S!

The 6-3 Jets are the first team to surpass their projected win total for the season (5.5).

Hmmm, maybe those bettors who backed the Jets to win the Super Bowl before the season were on to something …

Great for LSU, not great for bettor

LSU fans are singing the praises of coach Brian Kelly's gutsy decision to go for the win in overtime against No. 6 Alabama on Saturday.

The Crimson Tide scored a TD and kicked the extra point on the first possession of OT for a 31-24 lead over the No. 10 Tigers.

On LSU's first play, QB Jayden Daniels ran for a 25-yard touchdown to make it 31-30. Most coaches would've kicked the extra point to force a second OT.

Kelly is different from most coaches.

Kelly told his team to go for a two-point conversion and the win. Daniels completed a pass to Mason Taylor for the win, setting off bedlam in the Bayou.

One bettor, however, wasn't celebrating.

The bettor hit the first part of their two-leg parlay (bet $10 at +800 to win $90 total) as Michigan (-32.5) beat Rutgers 52-17.

The second leg was Alabama and LSU combining to score more than 63.5 points.

Final: LSU 32, Alabama 31.

Had the Tigers kicked the extra point, that would've guaranteed the bettor would've cashed their parlay.

More from Alabama-LSU

Under bettors who placed a wager at 56.5 points were in great shape as LSU led 14-9 heading into the fourth quarter.

The teams then combined to score 25 points in the fourth quarter and 15 more on only eight combined plays from scrimmage in OT.

Final combined points: 63.

Every (extra) point counts

The second-half spread had Hawaii +41.5 points against Fresno State in a Mountain West Conference game Saturday.

The Rainbow Warriors scored a touchdown with 42 seconds to go, cutting the Bulldogs' lead to 55-13.

The extra point was blocked.

Final margin: 42 points.

Wait, there's more …

The Over/Under was 62.5. Fresno State led 55-7 with two minutes to go, so the Under was in play.

Hawaii faced fourth and 7 from the Fresno State 41 with about a minute to go. The Rainbow Warriors threw an incomplete pass, but the Bulldogs were called for a personal foul, giving Hawaii a first down.

The Rainbow Warriors scored two plays later, ruining the night for Under bettors.

The capper? The personal foul was the only penalty called on the Bulldogs during the game.

Stay tuned for more of the wackiness!

And if you want to join in on the fun (or madness), head over to FOX Bet for all your wagers.

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