Week 1 of the NFL season always offers us some mind-boggling and smirk-inducing surprises.
From this past week, the Chicago Bears game against the San Francisco 49ers had atrocious weather and led to the Bears winning 19-10. There was also a tie in the AFC South, missed kicks by the Cincinnati Bengals, an injury to Dallas Cowboys quarterback Dak Prescott, and much more.
While we go into the season with little context regarding how each team will operate by season's end, that doesn't mean there aren't bad beats each week. There are some criteria to qualify as a bad beat, including a bet appearing to be won but dwindling with minutes to go or in situations where a bet should have been resolved but wasn't.
Below, we have our top four from Week 1.
Philadelphia Eagles vs. Detroit Lions
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Bad Beat: Eagles -5
The line on this game fluctuated between 4 points and 5.5 throughout the week, but no matter which of these you bet on, you would have lost. In total, the Eagles led by more than five points starting in the second quarter with 7:34 to go all the way until 3:51 left in the game.
In fact, the Eagles were scoreless in the fourth quarter and allowed the Lions to score 14 unanswered points. Eagles quarterback Jalen Hurts had a rocky start and only completed 18 passes on 32 attempts. Still, the Lions continued to find a way to get back in this game. The Lions are a feisty, fiery bunch that may not win many games, but they always manage to find a way to cover.
Moving forward for the Eagles, you'll hope for better sack production (they had just one in this game) and for Hurts to settle in much more passing the ball. Goff struggled for the Lions, but he managed to get wide receivers Amon-Ra St. Brown, and DJ Chark involved, scoring a touchdown each as D'Andre Swift went off on the ground.
So, think twice the next time you want to bet against the Lions point-spread-wise.
Cleveland Browns vs. Carolina Panthers
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Bad Beat: Panthers ML
The line on this game always floated around 1.5 on either side but ultimately ended as a pick 'em at some sites. After going down 14-0, then 20-7, the Panthers continued to claw their way back and took the lead with 1:13 left in the game.
For those betting the Panthers moneyline, you were forced to hold your breath all game long and could finally let it out when the game seemed all but shored up. Against other teams, 1:13 could feel like a century, but this felt relatively safe against the Browns and quarterback Jacoby Brissett.
Well, it wasn't.
Instead, the drive started off with a roughing the passer call on Panthers edge rusher Brian Burns, which moved the Browns from the 25-yard line to the 40. Then, Browns converted a 2nd-and-12 with a 13-yard pass from Brissett to Donovan Peoples-Jones, bringing them to the Carolina 49-yard line.
Following this play, the Browns only managed nine more yards, and this still set them and kicker Cade York up for a 58-yard bomb. Surely, as a Panthers moneyline bettor, you think to yourself, "58 yards. He's going to miss this. He's going to miss this."
Guess again: York nailed it and robbed those moneyline bettors.
New York Giants vs. Tennessee Titans
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Bad Beat: Titans -5.5
Heading into this game, we knew the Titans weren't even close to the 2021-22 No. 1 seed in the AFC.
This was apparent as quarterback Ryan Tannehill completed 20-of-33 passes for 266 yards and two touchdowns, and running back Derrick Henry had 82 rushing yards on 21 carries. The top receiver was rookie Kyle Phillips, a fifth-round pick out of UCLA. He had six catches on nine targets for 66 yards. Dontrell Hilliard had two receiving touchdowns on three catches.
Each team had 13 points with 8:48 to go in the third quarter following a 65-yard touchdown pass from Giants quarterback Daniel Jones to Sterling Shepard. Then, with just a couple minutes to go in the third, the Titans regained a seven-point lead, making it 20-13.
So, at this point, it's safe to think "OK, the Giants have just 13 points, with one of the scores being a play that the Giants don't typically make." There's a whole quarter to go, sure, but the Giants didn't score a single point the entire first half.
Then, the Giants scored on a one-yard pass from Jones to fullback Chris Myarick. But, to add insult to injury, the Giants went for two and got it, thanks to running back Saquon Barkley.
The Titans ended up losing 21-20.
Indianapolis Colts vs. Houston Texans
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Bad Beat: Over 44.5
Of all the bad beats, this one has to be the most facepalming. First and foremost, the Colts were a 7-point favorite and probably shouldn't have won this game based on how they performed for the first three quarters (just three points). Instead, they rallied, scoring 17 unanswered points, tying the game 20-20.
Now here's where the bad beat comes in.
The total was 44.5. You have two teams in overtime tied 20-20 for a combined score of 40. So, if a touchdown occurs, this goes over.
You could argue that with how these teams played, perhaps a field goal would have settled it after multiple rocky possessions. Still, the Colts played fine during the last eight minutes of the fourth quarter. Ties in the NFL don't happen all that often, so losing an over bet here when the result is quite likely to occur absolutely stings.
New Colts quarterback and veteran Matt Ryan ended the day completing 32-of-50 passes for 352 yards, one touchdown, and one interception. All-World running back Jonathan Taylor had 35 total touches (31 carries, four receptions) for 175 yards and a touchdown.
Ryan did manage to find an instant connection with wide receiver Michael Pittman for nine receptions, 121 yards, and a score. The most notable aspect of the Texans game was that running back Rex Burkhead out-snapped rookie upstart Dameon Pierce 19 to 12.
