Vegas Oddsmakers Bet Against Aaron Rodgers’ #HailMary

Thursday night the Packers squared off with in-division rival the Detroit Lions and brought back an important dub to Green Bay.  At 8-4 the Packers now sit in the drivers seat for the NFC North playoff race.  The game came down to the final play of the game as Aaron Rodgers heaved a 60-plus yard touchdown pass as time expired for the win. But for many, that wasn’t the biggest storyline.

Bad Beats COLUMN: OddsMakers Bet Against Aaron Rodgers

Once again millions of dollars exchanged hands during the last seconds of a game in the sports betting world. Vegas opened the spread at Green Bay -5.5 but with the public siding with the Lions the spread moved all the way to Green Bay -2.5 before the game started.  As time expired the Packers came from behind and covered their spread — breaking the hopes of anyone that had money on the Lions as a dog. The #badbeat gets worse, however.

The game came down to one final drive for the Packers to get into field goal range.  With the score at 21-23 Lions, a Packers field goal would put the game away for Green Bay 24-23.  The tricky part of this score is the over/under for the game was set at 47, meaning the game would “push” and no money would be lost or gained.  Unable to get into range, the Packers lined up for what we thought would be the final play of the game. Their only hope was to get the ball in the end zone. Rodgers hiked the ball and completed a pass that resulted into several backward pitches that would eventually result with the ball back in his hands.  He was then tackled for a loss and the game was ended… so we thought.

The referees thew the flag and called a face mask penalty that would result in one final play. With zero seconds on the clock Rodgers shoved that pass and Richards came down with it in the endzone. The play not only covered the spread but also put the point total at 50 and covered the over. After a closer look, the face-mask penalty was borderline nonexistent. Rodgers was legally brought down by the shoulder pad, and the Lions should have walked away with the win. Instead Rodgers avoided a weeks worth of scrutiny and was gifted a free play by the football gods. Most importantly, millions of dollars were lost after a #badbeat.

PHOTO: DETROIT, MI – DECEMBER 3: Aaron Rodgers #12 of the Green Bay Packers is tackled by Quandre Diggs #28 and Stephen Tulloch #55 of the Detroit Lions in the first quarter at Ford Field on December 3, 2015 in Detroit, Michigan. (Photo by Andrew Weber/Getty Images)