National Football League

2024 NFL Bad Beats: Saints score last-minute touchdown to shift point total

Updated Nov. 3, 2024 6:57 p.m. ET

Every week in the NFL, bettors, sportsbooks or both bemoan some form of a bad beat.

Whether it's a spread pick, a moneyline bet, or a wager on the total points scored — there's always one occurrence that affects a few bets.

In the Thursday Night Football game between the Saints and the Broncos, it was the point total (37) that caused bettors some pain.

Let's check out how it all went down.

Last minute touchdown for New Orleans

From the start of the game, Denver dominated this matchup. Sean Payton's squad jumped out to a 16-3 lead at the end of the first half, and would make it 26-3 heading into the fourth.

With two rookie quarterbacks starting in a Thursday night game, several bettors took the Under on the point total, closing at 37. The score was still 26-3 with just over six minutes left in the game, meaning the total sat at 29 points.

But then, just six plays into that drive, Spencer Rattler was sacked, causing him to fumble. Cody Barton would recover it and take it to the house for a touchdown. After the extra point, the score was now 33-3— pushing the total to 36.

Suddenly, it was a sweat.

The Saints recorded seven plays by the time the two-minute warning hit, and were at Denver's 48-yard line. Backup quarterback (and third-string to the injured Derek Carr) Jake Haener was thrust into action due to an injury sustained by Rattler. He'd go under center for four plays before the Saints called their first timeout, with just 1:25 left in the game.

On the very next play, Haener threw a touchdown to Cedric Wilson Jr. Not only was it their only touchdown of the game, but it doomed Under bettors— pushing the total from 36 points to 43.

The final score would remain 33-10, causing consecutive home losses by 20+ points for the Saints— the first time that's happened since Weeks 16 and 17 of the 2001 season.

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