As Week 8 of the NFL season winds down, it's time once again to look back and examine those "winning" bets that got stolen away. The primary culprit in making this list is often a touchdown or other scoring that occurs toward the end of the game. However, Week 8 seemed to have plenty of scoring to go around, so plenty of totals went over, and many point spreads got cleared with no questions asked.
That said, we have three bets to look over.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Washington Commanders
Photo by Justin Casterline/Getty Images
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Bad Beat: Colts -2.5
This week, the legend of Colts quarterback Sam Ehlinger grew exponentially after the team announced it would bench Matt Ryan for the season. Ehlinger played pretty well in this one, completing 17 of 23 attempts for 201 yards. But he didn't find the end zone. There was one close call with wide receiver Michael Pittman, who was ruled down; then the Colts got stuffed at the 1-yard line and settled for a field goal. This put the Colts up 9-7 over the Commanders instead of 13-7. That field goal happened with 12:32 to go in the game, and they scored again just over a minute later following an interception.
This time, it was a touchdown by running back Nyheim Hines, putting the Colts up 16-7. On the next drive, the Commanders kicked a field goal, and the Colts' lead shrank to six, but they were still covering that 2.5-point spread, and the Ehlinger legend was on course for a win. Well, not so fast.
The Commanders got the ball back with 2:39 left in the game. Here's how the drive went, starting on their 11-yard line:
- Pass to wide receiver Terry McLaurin for six yards.
- Quarterback Taylor Heinicke scrambled for one yard.
- Running back J.D. McKissic ran for two yards.
- Pass to wide receiver Curtis Samuel for 12 yards.
- Pass to McKissic for four yards.
- Heinicke scrambled for nine yards
- Pass to wide receiver Cameron Sims for 21 yards.
- Pass to McLaurin for 33 yards.
In case you hadn't added the yards to this point, the Commanders were now at the Colts' 1-yard line with 22 seconds left in the game. Heinicke took the snap and ran it in himself for the score, followed by the extra point. The Commanders went on to win 17-16 after a slow start to the drive and a poor scoring day.
That final drive must've been annoying to all Colts -2.5 bettors.
Buffalo Bills vs. Green Bay Packers
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Bad Beat: Bills -11
First of all, betting the Bills -11 in this one was bold to begin with — but hey, you were so close to having the big-brain bet.
For this game, we need to establish some context.
Heading into halftime, the Bills had a commanding 24-7 lead, and Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers had little time to get anything going. In the third quarter, the Packers and Bills each kicked a field goal, so there was still a 17-point lead. However, the Bills' offense struggled from there, especially in the fourth quarter. On back-to-back drives, the Bills — who to that point scored on five of six drives — threw interceptions. The Packers also had an interception, but the series of picks went Bills, Packers, Bills.
After the second Bills interception, Rodgers found wide receiver Samori Toure downfield for a 37-yard strike for a score after a fantastic improv on his route. Kicker Mason Crosby hit the extra point to cut the lead to 10. This would be the final score, as the Bills got the ball after this and could only go 28 yards on 10 plays.
The Bills should've covered the -11, but two interceptions, long drives with no scoring and just three points in the second half led to the somewhat-backdoor cover.
Tampa Bay Buccaneers vs. Baltimore Ravens
Photo by Kevin Sabitus/Getty Images
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Bad Beat: Under 46
Rewinding to Thursday Night Football, betting the over made sense here. The Buccaneers had several injuries in the secondary, and the Ravens have had issues defending the pass all year. However, we understand wanting to be sharp here — and like the Bills' -11, you were pretty close.
Heading into the fourth quarter, the Ravens and QB Lamar Jackson had a 17-10 lead, so to get over, 19 points needed to be scored. There were five scoring drives in the fourth quarter — three by the Buccaneers and two by the Ravens. Notice that the Buccaneers had one more — this was the deciding factor on the over/under.
With just over two minutes left in the game, the Buccaneers had the ball on their 25-yard line. Throughout 11 plays, they had three plays of double-digit yards and a roughing the passer call, which gave them an additional 15 yards. Then with just 49 ticks left on the clock, QB Tom Brady hit Julio Jones — who's been battling injuries for years now — for eight yards. This gave the Ravens a 27-22 lead, which was the final score.
So, if not for multiple double-digit-yard plays and a roughing the passer call, there's a strong chance the under would've hit here.
