You’ve heard of the Cover 2 defense.
Jacksonville’s Doug Pederson should be known as the cover coach of the NFL postseason.
Heading into Saturday’s game between Pederson’s Jaguars and the Kansas Chiefs, Pederson was 6-0 against the spread (ATS) as a head coach underdog in the playoffs.
Now you can make that 7-0 as the Jaguars (+9.5 at FOX Bet) covered their 27-20 loss to the Chiefs in an AFC Divisional Round game in Kansas City, Missouri.
But it took a field goal with 25 seconds left that was, as famed announcer Al Michaels likes to say, “important to some.”
Welcome to the world of absurd wins and bad beats in sports betting.
Each week, we’ll recap the betting plays where some people cashed in and others tore up their tickets in frustration.
Let’s dive into this week’s madness!
The divisional dogs are barking again
Bettors who played the 9.5 points either way sweated some big swings in excitement on Saturday.
The Chiefs pushed their lead to 27-17 midway through the fourth quarter, and the punt-taking Jaguars defenders grew more nervous as Jacksonville’s next two drives ended with a fumble and a interception, both in Chiefs territory.
The fumble was especially costly for Jacksonville backers. Jamal Agnew caught a short pass but lost a fumble at the Chiefs’ 3-yard line with 5 1/2 minutes left.
Things looked bleak for the Jaguars defenders when Kansas City’s Jaylen Watson intercepted a pass at the Chiefs’ 30 with just under four minutes left. But Kansas City managed just one first down and punted with just over a minute left.
Jacksonville started at its own 33, but picked up first downs on its first two plays with gains of 11 and 21 yards.
The Jaguars faced fourth-and-5 from the Chiefs’ 30 with about 30 seconds left, and then it was decision time.
Should Jacksonville go for it and try to score a touchdown?
No, Pederson decided to kick a field goal to make it a one-goal game. Riley Patterson delivered, making a 48-yard field goal with 25 seconds left.
That field goal cut Kansas City’s lead to 27-20. When the Chiefs recovered the onside kick, Jaguars players +9.5 had the tailgate cover.
A blowout for some (Chiefs bettors) and a freak win for others (Jags bettors). Here are the game breaks.
The underdog Jaguars covering the first game of the weekend was no surprise as it continued a trend dating back to 2003, tweeted BetMGM data analyst John Ewing.
A player who paid the vig cashed in a $500,000 bet.
Because of this bet and other actions, the result was a difficult start to the weekend for some of the sportsbooks.
Great Scott!
The punters who did the research only knew that Philadelphia running back Boston Scott would score a touchdown against the New York Giants.
Scott scored on a 3-yard run midway through the second quarter as Scott (+325 to score a TD anytime at FOX Bet) was the top oddsmaker to score a TD in multiple sportsbooks.
Scott has scored a TD in the nine games he has played against the Giants and 57.9% of his career touchdowns have come against the G-Men.
Stay tuned for more madness!
And if you want to join in the fun (or madness), head over to FOX Bet for all your betting.
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