With Week 6 wrapped up, it's time to do our weekly retrospective, looking back at the most egregious bad beats of the week.
Generally speaking, this was a bad week for betting as so many underdogs won, and teams you would never have expected to win did. In fact, the first matchup we'll discuss falls under that category.
Let's dive in.
Green Bay Packers vs. New York Jets
Photo by John Fisher/Getty Images
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Bad Beat: Over 44.5
Not sure what to say here. The Packers just seem lost.
Yes, it's only Week 6, and they really just need to get into the playoffs, but my you can't help but feel like you need to push the panic button here, as the Packers lost to the Jets at Lambeau Field 27-10.
Heading into this one with a total of 44.5, you'd be more concerned with the Jets scoring enough points, but instead, it was the Packers.
Rodgers had 41 attempts and could only manage 246 yards and one touchdown pass to wide receiver Allen Lazard late in the fourth quarter. The Packers' rushing attack combined for 20 carries and just 60 yards.
With the Jets scoring in the 20s, the over should have been easy to snag here, but bettors took a bad beat as the Packers' offense took the week off.
Pittsburgh Steelers vs. Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Photo by Joe Sargent/Getty Images
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Bad Beat: Bucs Lose Outright
Going up against Steelers rookie quarterback Kenny Pickett who led the team to just three points in a 30+ point blowout last week against the Buffalo Bills, a -10 spread for the Buccaneers seemed doable. Not only was it not doable, but they also lost the game outright.
Pickett got hurt in the game, and Trubisky came in, but neither of these guys should threaten the Buccaneers' defense.
The Steelers won 20-18, so the defense did its job. The offense led by quarterback Tom Brady just couldn't seem to get into much of a rhythm. Brady was sacked just two times in this one, so the Steelers' defense just showed up in coverage and kept wide receivers Mike Evans and Chris Godwin in check.
Like the Packers, the Buccaneers' offense needs to get going sooner rather than later, but as per usual, it's not a team you want to face in the playoffs. But yeah, losing outright as a 10-point favorite is rough.
New Orleans Saints vs. Cincinnati Bengals
Photo by Chris Graythen/Getty Images
Bad Beat: Saints +3
Fun fact: Since now-Saints quarterback Andy Dalton left the Bengals in 2020, he not only started against them in each season but also beat them. He beat them with the Dallas Cowboys and Chicago Bears in 2020 and 2021, respectively.
He had a chance to go 3-0 with the Saints, but his efforts were thwarted.
Dalton finished the day with 162 passing yards and a score, but the Saints managed 26 points. The Saints never trailed in this game and were only tied 7-7 for less than three minutes. They had a lead of 26-21 with 11:07 left to go in the game as kicker Wil Lutz hit a 31-yard field goal. After that, with 3:42 to go, the Bengals hit a 52-yard field goal with kicker Evan McPherson.
Following that field goal, the Saints went three-and-out, managing just six total yards on that series. They punted the ball to the Bengals out of bounds on the Bengals' 40-yard line.
After getting the ball back with less than two minutes to go in the game, Bengals quarterback Joe Burrow hit wide receiver Ja'Marr Chase for a 60-yard touchdown, making it a one-play drive. They attempted the two-point conversion but failed. They were up 30-26 with less than two minutes to go. The Saints got the ball back and had a nine-play drive but only managed 22 yards. They would end up losing the game after leading the entire day.
What a brutal way to lose.
Kansas City Chiefs vs. Buffalo Bills
Photo by Jason Hanna/Getty Images
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Bad Beat: Chiefs +2.5
We all know what happened last year in the playoffs with the Bills and Chiefs and the Chiefs had an opportunity to repeat with even more time on the clock. This wasn't exactly the shootout we all thought it would be. Instead, neither team reached 20 points until the fourth quarter.
With 9:49 to go in the game, the Chiefs and kicker Harrison Butker hit a 44-yard field goal to take the lead, 20-17 at home. For the next 8:45, no scoring would occur until just 1:04 remained.
After a 12 play, 76-yard drive that included a play in which Bills quarterback Josh Allen hurdled a defender to get the first down, Allen hit tight end Dawson Knox in the front left corner of the endzone for the go-ahead score. The Bills led 24-20 with just over a minute to go, but uh oh—the Chiefs tied the game in the playoffs with just 13 seconds to go.
On the drive's first play, there was a penalty on the Bills for holding. The Chiefs got a free five yards. Then, with 56 ticks left on the clock, Chiefs quarterback Patrick Mahomes sought wide receiver Skyy Moore and threw an interception to Bills cornerback Taron Johnson ending the game.
For Chiefs +2.5 bettors, this was a brutal way to end it—not only giving up the score but Allen's hurdle, then the interception.
