CC Scott Van Pelt: we’ve got another bad beat for you. The dreaded “backdoor cover” was in full effect Sunday in Houston, where, after three quarters of letting the Rams do whatever they wanted, the Texans finally decided to show up. The result was a painful reality every bettor has lived at some point, with the Texans taking a flamethrower to the spread with a barrage of meaningless—unless you had money on it—fourth-quarter touchdowns in a loss that was much more lopsided than the final score would indicate.
The Rams held a comfortable 38-0 advantage when they finally pulled their starters in the fourth quarter, at which point the Texans went to work, rattling off 22 unanswered points in a hectic 10-minute span. Keeping with the Halloween theme, bettors who had the Rams to cover at -16.5 watched in horror as the Texans—for no reason other than to watch the world burn—maintained possession by recovering an onside kick. After marching the length of the field for another touchdown—their third in as many drives—the Texans went full anarchist with a successful two-point conversion (Davis Mills did the honors on a quarterback keeper the Rams never saw coming), burying L.A. bettors once and for all.
Predictably, Twitter had a field day with this unlikely chain of events, lamenting Houston’s late stat-padding while chiding the Rams for taking their foot off the gas.
Though admittedly not on the scale of Sunday’s disastrously bad beat, a similar scene unfolded earlier this year when the Eagles, trailing late against Tampa Bay, cut their deficit to six on a two-point conversion, doing just enough to cover (Philadelphia entered as seven-point home underdogs). Adding to the misery, the Buccaneers could have easily extended their lead—they had first-and-goal from the Eagles’ six-yard-line with two minutes to go—but chose to run out the clock, kneeling on their final three snaps.
When the going is good, striking it rich on a point spread or parlay can be an instant adrenaline rush, but as Sunday reminded us, the life of a sports bettor is not without heartbreak.
LISTEN on the Audacy App
Sign Up and Follow Audacy Sports
Facebook | Twitter | Instagram