We had our first bad beat of the 2019 post season in the NFL yesterday at Wannamakeabet.com when the Dallas Cowboys failed to cover against the Seattle Seahawks as a 2.5 point favorite. It was a wildcard weekend bad beat for the ages. As with all bad beats, the game and point spread were decided in the final minutes of play. But this had to be one of the most bizarre reasons for a bad beat that sports bettors have ever seen. And yet another reason why sports betting is so unpredictable and impossible. And yet another reminder why you should be playing with us at Wannamakeabet.com and not betting real money on games.
Here’s what went down yesterday in Dallas yesterday. Let’s pick up the action with about 2:20 seconds left in the 4th quarter. Dallas had an illegal shift call that put them into 3rd and long from just inside the 20 yard line. Dak Prescott made the play of the game when he scrambled out of the pocket and nearly scored in an acrobatic dive for the end zone that not only picked up the first down, but put them inside the one yard line.
Before that play, it was looking like Dallas would run and secure the ball and kick a field goal and take a six point lead. This would setup Russell Wilson to drive down the field and either win the game by one or lose by six. But after that play, Zeke Elliott punched it in and the Cowboys were up by 10. At this point, Dallas bettors were thinking that they were essentially a lock. But as all sports bettors know, you NEVER utter the L word in reference to anything. And what happened next proved it once again.
On the ensuing possession (Don’t you love the word “ensuing”, which is never used outside of football possessions) the Seahawks drove down the field to the Dallas 5 yard line. On 4th and goal, the Seahawks went for a TD and scored to cut the lead to 6.
Why didn’t they kick a field goal there you might ask? Reason. Because Sebastian Janikowski is an aging, overweight slob and hurt himself on the last play of the first half and was unable to kick. And not only that, but they didn’t have a backup kicker. So Seattle had no choice but to go for 2 and try and cut the lead to 2 points. In any other circumstance ever contemplated, the trailing team in this possession would have kicked the extra point to cut the lead to three and then attempted an onside kick so they could try and tie the game with final field goal.
They converted. The two point conversion. And every single sports bettor from Vegas to New Jersey who had money on Dallas threw up in their mouths. Now Seattle was down by two. The ultimate, unthinkable backdoor cover just two minutes prior.
There was only one play left. The onside kick attempt (which didn’t convert). But it didn’t matter. The damage was done. Seattle was going to lose this game by 2 after being down by 10 with less than two minutes. But how they ended up losing by 2 and not 3 and not 7 was absolutely sickening if you had money on Dallas.
That’s gambling. And once again, another reason why you should not be betting real money and instead playing at a site like Wannamakeabet.com. When things like this happen, you can only shake your head and say, thank god it’s not real money and I’m playing at Wanna. Still time to get into the NFL Playoffs League at the site.
Jack Kincaid is a senior analyst at Wannamakeabet.com