By TheNuts - Sep 20, 2023
49ers Bettors Are Furious After A Perplexing Last Field Goal
In Week 2 NFL play on Sunday, the San Francisco 49ers defeated the Los Angeles Rams. Given that the Niners were 7.5-point favorites, that was expected. And, fancy that, San Francisco won the game 30-23, proving that the oddsmakers were exactly right. Everything makes sense in our bizarre world. Or is that the case? Many 49ers bettors were unhappy with the final score, or more specifically, how it was determined.
Since there is no such thing as a half-point in a football game, it doesn't matter if San Francisco did not cover the spread because the line was incredibly precise. They were favored by a touchdown and won by a touchdown.
The entire game was close. The Rams roared back to lead 17-10 when San Francisco quarterback Brock Purdy scored a touchdown to tie the game late in the first half after the Niners had taken an early 7-0 lead. After Los Angeles closed the gap to seven points in the fourth quarter, San Francisco retook the lead with three minutes left by kicking a short field goal.
Despite being in short field goal range with four seconds left, L.A.'s final two possessions failed to result in a quick score.
Naturally, they were trailing by two points, so there was no chance for a comeback. A single play remained before the game was ended. Bettors in San Francisco were probably pleased but a little uneasy because they knew the Rams might still attempt to throw for a 20-yard touchdown. Given that the Niners would have the majority of their defenders in the end zone, the pass would likely be incomplete, and that would be that.
But for some reason, the Rams made a field goal with seconds left to play, changing the outcome from a Niners -7.5 win to a 30-23 loss and, of course, making Rams bettors the winners. The field goal had little bearing on how the game would turn out because the Rams would lose by a smaller margin and the clock was bound to expire.
As a result, many punters on sports are demanding that Rams head coach Sean McVay be looked into. They reasoned that the only other possible explanation for a completely meaningless field goal was if McVay had enough money on his team to cover it.