Happy Monday to all who bet on the Rams.
You couldn’t epitomize the fickle nature of NFL betting better than Sunday’s 33-26 triumph by the Eagles if you tried.
The Rams, who opened at +4.5 and closed at +3.5, appeared to be very live underdogs through the first half — leading 26-7 after four first half field goals and then scoring a touchdown early in the third quarter.
Yet for all of Los Angeles kicker Joshua Karty’s good fortune, two blocked field goals in the fourth quarter — including a walk-off return — burned Rams bettors in devastating fashion.
While down 27-26 – and still covering the spread – Karty came out to kick a 44-yard game-winning field goal with 3 seconds left that would cash money line bets for underdog supporters. However, defensive tackle Jordan Davis hopped over the offensive line to block the field goal and returned the ball for a touchdown to widen the lead to 33-26.
A wild end, which won spread bets for the Eagles -3.5, and a gruesome loss for Rams suporters.
The real frustration is that the Rams held Philadelphia to 33 total yards of offense in the first half and were in complete control of the game. They took compelling action by setting up the 44-yard field goal try to win in response to DeVonta Smith’s go-ahead touchdown with 1:48 to play.
Keep in mind, a field goal returned for a touchdown only happened three times in the NFL last season.
As the Rams commendably fell to the Eagles in the NFC divisional round last year by six points, Week 3’s rematch could have been circled in bold Sharpie by Sean McVay’s squad.
In that game playoff game, Los Angeles finished with more total yards, first downs, and red zone conversions, while Matt Stafford outdueled Jalen Hurts by 196 passing yards. Saquon Barkley’s two touchdowns and 205 scrimmage yards, along with several timely plays on defense, proved the difference.
But public bettors still weren’t buying on the Rams to defeat the defending champs eight months later; 62% of bets were placed on Eagles -3.5 heading into kickoff.
Even though the Rams finished with more yards and first-down efficiency again (and Matt Stafford ironically moved to No. 9 all-time in passing scores), Hurts’ exploded for 209 air yards and three touchdowns in the second half.
The Eagles improved to 2-1 ATS while Los Angeles fell to 2-1.
This is a bad beat that will be remembered for a while.
Sean Treppedi handicaps the NFL, NHL, MLB and college football for the New York Post. He primarily focuses on picks that reflect market value while tracking trends to mitigate risk.