Bettors who had money on the Houston Texans were thrilled by their last-second touchdown. Then crushed by what happened afterward.
CJ STROUDDDDDDDDDDDD. #TBvsHOU pic.twitter.com/gW2PMBVIbj
— NFL (@NFL) November 5, 2023
The Texans, who were 2.5-point favorites, drove down the field for in 40 seconds for a touchdown with six seconds left to go up 39-37 on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Rookie QB C.J. Stroud found Tank Dell in the end zone for his fifth touchdown pass of the game, and his rookie-record 470th passing yard. But with kicker Ka'imi Fairbairn ruled out with a quad injury, Houston was very cautious with the point-after try.
The Texans, after losing their kicker early due to injury, elect to kneel their 2-PT attempt and seal their win
— ClutchPoints Betting (@CPBetting) November 5, 2023
Bad news:
Texans -2.5 ♂️ pic.twitter.com/pHpefvSgj9
With six seconds left, Texans coach DeMeco Ryans decided that any potential extra points weren't worth the risk of having a blocked kick, intercepted two-point try or fumble returned for two points by the defense.
So the Texans lined up for a two-point try and knelt down instead. The game ended 39-37, with the Texans winning — but their bettors losing.
Gamblers were up in arms about the Texans' decision, especially since Houston's emergency kicker, running back Dale Ogunbawale, actually made a 28-yard field goal earlier to give them a 33-30 lead.
IT'S GOOOOOOD
— NFL on CBS (@NFLonCBS) November 5, 2023
RUNNING BACK DARE OGUNBOWALE JUST KICKED A GO-AHEAD FIELD GOAL @HoustonTexans pic.twitter.com/5zgN3sj6ah
The internet erupted.
Texans -3 bettors watching the Kneel Down pic.twitter.com/kFgWpttmGx
— Barstool Sports (@barstoolsports) November 5, 2023
Might be a good time to mute the term 'fixed' after that Texans kneel.
— Rob Pizzola (@robpizzola) November 5, 2023
Texans -2.5 bettors watching them kneel on the 2 pt conversion pic.twitter.com/h9iD0hSb62
— SGG Media (@SGG_hq) November 5, 2023
The decision made sense for Houston, but anytime a last-second decision affects the gambling outcome, there's questions from the public.
It wasn't nearly as strange as when Los Angeles Rams coach Sean McVay kicked a field goal on the final play to cut the 49ers' margin of victory to 30-23 — which covered the 7.5-point spread.
The 49ers were favored by 7.5 points and led 30-20 with 4 seconds left before the Rams decided to kick a field goal as time expired to lose by 7 points, 30-23. pic.twitter.com/w28xW28yO8
— Arash Markazi (@ArashMarkazi) September 17, 2023
After the game, McVay explained that with one play left, the Rams might as well practice the field goal, since it didn't matter to the outcome.
He told reporters, "Apparently there's a lot of people in Vegas pissed off about that decision. I clearly was not aware of that stuff."
The Texans moved to 4-4 on the season behind a historically good game by Stroud. And a historically bad beat for gamblers.
More must-reads:
Bark Bets is Yardbarker's free daily guide to the world of sports betting. You'll get:
Subscribe now!