The 49ers Covered On An All-Time Bad Beat Moment From The Cardinals

The Cardinals led the 49ers late in the fourth quarter, 26-23, and while the outcome of the game was very much in jeopardy as the Niners marched down the field, who would cover never felt in question.

Arizona opened as an 11.5-point underdog in Santa Clara, but that number crept down to a closing line of either 9.5 or 10 points. For most of the game, that didn’t seem to be much of an issue as the two teams traded scores and the biggest lead for either team was Arizona by 16. San Francisco never led by more than one possession, that was until the clock struck double zero.

On the final play of the game, the Cardinals sought a miracle deep in their own end and decided to run a pitchy pitchy woo woo, aka Death For Bettors. Indeed, disaster struck as Larry Fitzgerald hucked the ball backwards across the field to no one in particular and a few wild bounces saw the ball bounding towards the goal line. There, a Niners defender scooped it up and strode into the end zone as time had expired to make it 36-26 San Francisco, and break the spirit of everyone that got on Arizona too late in the week.

This is an all-time bad beat. It belongs up there with the greats, reminiscent of the infamous Ohio State cover against Northwestern on a similar play a few years back. Cardinals fans will never see their money again, but they do have a story they’ll tell forever and ever, whenever someone within earshot dares utter the words “bad beat.”