Week 4 of 2017 NFL season ended in spectacular fashion with a (very) entertaining game between Kansas City and Washington. In the end, the Chiefs were victorious on the strength of what appeared to be a walk-off field goal from rookie kicker Harrison Butker and, even if Washington was on the wrong end of things, Kirk Cousins and company played well in competing for 60 minutes.
However, things got very weird in the final seconds and, even if it did not matter for the result of the game in the standings, there were massive implications for the good folks in Las Vegas. At kick-off, the Chiefs were favored by approximately seven points (depending on where you looked) and, after the Butker field goal, Kansas City led by only three.
Then, it happened. Washington tried to get into the end zone by throwing a screen pass, with the hopes it would be able to mow down defenders en route to a touchdown. Instead, we had an all-time great gambling moment.
The Chiefs were favored by 7… https://t.co/CorkofhPOA
— Kenny Ducey (@KennyDucey) October 3, 2017
Yes, that is Justin Houston scoring on a broken play littered with confusion. That propelled the Chiefs to one of the most spectacular backdoor covers in the history of football handicapping and, for good measure, the total was also affected.
A quick glance at the over/under total indicates that it swung from a high point of 49.5 points to a low point of 47.5 points, depending on the point in the week in which folks invested. The “meaningless” touchdown from the Chiefs sent the total from 43 points… to 49 points. In an even wilder turn of events, Andy Reid then sent his team on to the field to go for two and potentially break the back of those who had the best of the number, but the Chiefs took a knee to restore some level of order.
Oh, and as we mentioned, the Chiefs were -7. Seeing as how it went from a three-point win (23-20) to a nine-point win (29-20, which was the final score), this was a rollercoaster for those who put money down on the game. It is virtually impossible to have a play this wild that impacts both the side and total and, at nearly midnight ET, things went sideways for many people from coast to coast.
