NFL odds Week 5: Wacky wins and bad beats

Washington Commanders and Tennessee Titans backers went through a wild finish in their NFL game Sunday.

Commanders backers hoping for an upset saw their hopes dashed in the final minute as the Titans (-1.5) rallied to cover 21-17. How it all went down was definitely wild.

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!

Titans survive wild finish

Washington led 17-14 midway through the third quarter, but the Titans marched 75 yards for a touchdown to take a 21-17 lead with a minute to go in the period.

Each team punted twice in the fourth quarter before Washington took over at its 11 with 4:46 to go.

Quarterback Carson Wentz drove the Commanders down the field, and a pass interference penalty gave Washington first and goal from the 2-yard line with 19 seconds to go.

Titans cornerback Kristian Futon caught Wentz’s next pass but came down out of bounds. Wentz then threw an incompletion on second down.

With six seconds left, Titans linebacker David Long made a diving interception as Tennessee backers breathed a sigh of relief while Washington bettors ripped up their tickets.

Slide, Cardinals come up short

A late drive by the Arizona Cardinals faltered as the Philadelphia Eagles held on for a 20-17 win in the Valley of the Sun.

Cardinals moneyline bettors (+175) lamented quarterback Kyler Murray starting his slide a yard too soon late in the game.

The Eagles took a three-point lead on Cameron Dicker‘s 23-yard field goal with 1:45 to go.

After a touchback on the ensuing kickoff, Murray drove the Cardinals down the field.

On second down and 10 yards to go from the Eagles’ 34 and out of time outs, Murray scrambled for nine yards, sliding just short of the first-down line to gain, making it third down.

Instead of trying to pick up the first down, Murray spiked the ball to stop the clock with 22 seconds left. Fourth down.

That meant the Cardinals had to attempt a field goal. Had Murray picked up the first down, they could’ve taken a shot or two at the end zone or worked the sidelines to move closer for the field goal.

Instead, backup kicker Matt Ammendola‘s 43-yard field-goal attempt was wide right. The TV broadcast showed Ammendola, who was activated from the practice squad on Saturday, repeatedly missing wide right during pregame warm ups. Starting kicker Matt Prater was out with a hip injury.

On the bright side, bettors who took the Cardinals +5.5 still cashed in, though.

Going for two proves costly

Raiders coach Josh McDaniels was aggressive late in the fourth quarter Monday night against the Chiefs, but it cost Las Vegas.

Davante Adams‘ 48-yard touchdown catch with 4:29 to go cut the Raiders’ deficit to 30-29. Instead of kicking the tying extra point, McDaniels went for the lead with a two-point conversion attempt as the underdog Raiders were +280 (bet $10 to win $38 total) on the moneyline.

Running back Josh Jacobs, who ended up running for 154 yards and a touchdown on 21 carries, got stopped shy of the end zone. Kansas City ended up winning by that score and winning their fourth in a row over the Raiders.

The Chiefs winning did pay off for at least one deep pocketed parlay player:

Browns backers kicking themselves

Cleveland (+1.5) had two chances to take a late lead against the Chargers but failed.

Browns kicker Cade York was wide right from 54 yards with 16 seconds to go as Los Angeles held on for the 30-28 win.

The Browns were +100 (bet $10 to win $20 total) on the moneyline so ML bettors and those who took the points were lamenting York’s missed kick.

Earlier in the quarter, Cleveland drove to Los Angeles’ 9-yard line, but Jacoby Brissett‘s pass was intercepted by safety Alohi Gilman with 2:44 to go.

Safety proves costly

Leading 27-20, the New York Giants stopped Aaron Rodgers and the Green Bay Packers on fourth down and 1 from the Giants’ 6-yard line with about a minute to go.

All the Giants had to do was run out the clock, and a bettor who made a $5 bet on the final score being 27-20 at +18000 would have cashed for $905 total.

The Giants kneeled three times, the Packers called two time outs.

On fourth down from their 3 with the clock stopped with 15 seconds remaining, the G-Men lined up in punt formation.

Instead of punting, Giants punter Jamie Gillan took the snap and ran along the back of the end zone before going out of bounds for a safety.

27-22 final.

Welp. That hurt.

Moneyline bettors who backed the Giants also cashed in at a nice +280 (bet $10 to win $38 total).

Kiffin covers with late TD

Lane Kiffin has never been one to let up on the gas, and that was true in No. 9 Ole Miss‘ 52-28 win over Vanderbilt in college football.

The Commodores (+17) were successful on a two-point conversion with four minutes to go to make the score 45-28.

The Rebels recovered the onside kick attempt, and Ole Miss marched down the field. With less than a minute to go, Matt Jones ran for 3 yards for a first down at the Vandy 1.

Take a knee, coach? Not Kiffin. Touchdown Rebels, 52-28 final. Ole Miss bettors celebrate, while Vandy backers get hit with pain. The life of a sports bettor.

Pick-six pays off for Over bettors

Under bettors were in good shape late in the fourth quarter as the Wyoming Cowboys led the New Mexico Lobos 20-14 in a Mountain West Conference game.

But then it happened. Cowboys cornerback Cam Stone returned an interception 38 yards for a pick-six after the receiver fell with 1:08 to go to push the total to 41. The Over/Under was 37.

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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