National Football League

NFL Odds Week 12: Wacky wins and bad beats, including Jaguars-Ravens

Updated Nov. 27, 2022 8:20 p.m. ET

Some NFL bettors will admit they love the adrenaline rush from winning a wager that comes down to the final play, and that happened in the Baltimore Ravens at Jacksonville Jaguars game on Sunday.

Bettors on both sides were seconds away from a win late in the game, which featured a thrilling finish as the Jaguars won 28-27.

Welcome to the world of wacky wins and bad beats in sports betting.

Each week, we'll recap the betting plays that had some people cashing in and others tearing up their tickets in frustration. To paraphrase famed broadcaster Al Michaels, "Those plays are significant to some."

Let's dive into this week's craziness!

Jaguars go for win, get it

The Jaguars-Ravens game came down to the final play, making bettors on both sides sweat out the wild finish.

Jaguars backers (+3.5 points) could use their hard-earned cash to wipe their brows after the 28-27 victory.

The Ravens took a 27-20 lead with two minutes to go on a Lamar Jackson touchdown pass and two-point conversion.

Baltimore backers were counting down the seconds as Jacksonville started its final drive with an incompletion and sack/fumble, but the Jaguars recovered.

Facing third down and 21 yards to go from their own 14, quarterback Trevor Lawrence completed a pass for 16 yards and, on fourth down, completed another pass for 10 yards and a first down.

The Jaguars marched to the Ravens' 10 when Lawrence completed a TD pass to Marvin Jones Jr. in the right corner of the end zone. Replays confirmed Jones got both feet down with 14 seconds to go.

Instead of kicking the extra point and playing for overtime, Jaguars coach Doug Pederson went for two points and Lawrence delivered, completing a pass to Zay Jones for a 28-27 lead.

But Jaguars backers couldn't cash their tickets just yet as the Ravens have Jackson, the NFL MVP in 2019, and kicker Justin Tucker, whose range (he holds the NFL record for longest field goal, 66 yards) is exceeded only by his vocal range (Tucker is a classically trained bass-baritone who can sing opera in seven languages).

Jackson completed a pass to move the Ravens to the Jaguars' 49-yard line with two seconds to go.

Tucker's kick from 67 yards was short by this much as the Jaguars held on for the 28-27 win.

Cashing in were bettors who took the 3.5 points, the Jaguars moneyline bettors (+135, bet $10 to win $23.50 total) and the Over 43 bettors (Baltimore led 12-10 late in the third period).

Win some, lose some

The Los Angeles Chargers pulled out a 25-24 win over the Arizona Cardinals by scoring a touchdown and converting the two-point conversion with 15 seconds left.

How the ending affected bettors:

– Cardinals bettors (+2.5) covered.

– Chargers moneyline bettors cashed at -149 (bet $10 to win $16.71 total)

– The Over/Under was 48.5 points. Over bettors won by a half-point, Under bettors lost by a half-point.

Those linemakers know what they're doing, right?

J-E-T-S! Jets, Jets, Jets!

Jets bettors who gave the seven points against Chicago were sweating it out midway through the second quarter as the Bears led 10-7.

The Jets, behind backup QB Mike White, scored 24 unanswered points — including a 57-yard field goal by Greg Zuerlein — in a 15-minute span over the middle two quarters for a 31-10 victory.

Not only did bettors cash in on the Jets -7 and moneyline (-400) but so did the Over 38 bettors, as Ty Johnson's 32-yard run with two-and-a-half minutes to go in the third pushed the game Over.

Browns best Brady in OT

Tom Brady has engineered many, many late game-winning drives, but the Tampa Bay QB had the tables turned on him by the Cleveland Browns.

Tampa Bay took a 17-10 lead midway through the third quarter, but Browns' tight end David Njoku make a one-handed TD catch with 32 seconds remaining in regulation to force overtime.

The Browns (+3.5) pulled out the win as Amari Cooper's 45-yard catch moved Cleveland to the Tampa Bay 3 with 48 seconds to go in OT.

On second-and-goal, Nick Chubb scored on a 3-yard run with 19 seconds remaining for a 23-17 win.

The heroics of Njoku, Cooper and Chubb made winners out of moneyline players (+135), as well as Under 42 bettors.

Pulling QB haunts bettors

With Miami comfortable ahead of Houston 30-0 in the third quarter, the Dolphins replaced quarterback Tua Tagovailoa with backup Skylar Thompson.

That was bad for at least one bettor who had two bets on Tagovailoa's passing yards.

The bettor put $10 on Tagovailoa to throw for more than 300 (+140) and 325 yards (+240) against the Texans.

Tagovailoa was 22-for-36 passing for 299 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions.

The bettor was 26 yards from profiting $38.

Over bettors were left scratching their heads by the Dolphins switching QBs.

Miami's point total at some sportsbooks was 30.5 points. The Dolphins led 30-0 at halftime and only needed a safety or a field goal for Over bettors to cash in.

Didn't happen.

Goal-line woes costs Saints backers

San Francisco blanked New Orleans 13-0 but Saints backers who took the 8.5 points came one yard shy of covering.

Early in the fourth quarter, the Saints faced second and goal from the 6 when Andy Dalton completed a short pass to running back Alvin Kamara.

Kamara was swarmed by the 49ers and fumbled near the goal line. The 49ers recovered at their 1.

Saints bettors went through more agony as New Orleans had first and goal at the San Francisco 4 midway through the fourth quarter but three incompletions and a sack kept the shutout intact.

It ain't under till it's Over

Under 64.5 bettors in the Notre Dame-USC game were in decent shape as the Trojans led 31-14 entering the fourth quarter.

The No. 15 Fighting Irish scored a TD with just under 12 minutes to go, but Under bettors breathed easier as the next two drives ended in a punt with six minutes to go and an interception about a minute later.

The No. 6 Trojans scored a TD with 2:35 to go for some breathing room (38-21) but Under bettors were getting anxious.

The Fighting Irish returned the kickoff 37 yards but were facing second and 20 from the USC 46 with 1:24 to go.

Two plays later, Under bettors were ripping up their tickets.

Notre Dame completed a pass for 22 yards and a first down then a 24-yard dagger to Under bettors for a TD.

The Fighting Irish missed the two-point conversion attempt, which added to the agony for Under bettors as they lost by the slimiest of margins.

Final: USC 38, Notre Dame 27 (65 total points).

A fair question: Why didn't they kick the extra point? Under bettors want to know.

Double OT sinks Under bettors

North Carolina State upended No. 17 North Carolina in double overtime Friday, much to the chagrin of Under bettors.

The O/U was 56 and Under bettors were feeling good as the teams scored a combined 27 points midway through te fourth quarter.

The Tar Heels scored the tying touchdown as time expired in the fourth quarter but Under bettors still had hope as the game was 24-24.

Hope, as all bettors know, doesn't always pay off.

Each team kicked a field goal in OT, making it 27-27 heading into the second overtime. The best Under bettors could hope for was just a winning safety for a push.

The Wolfpack, however, kicked a field goal for a 30-27 win as Under bettors ripped up their tickets.

Can't Bear this bad beat

Baylor backers (+8.5) were feeling confident when the Bears took a 27-24 lead over No. 23 Texas early in the fourth quarter on a defensive TD.

Things quickly unraveled for the Bears.

The Longhorns scored a TD on their next possession for a 31-27 lead, then the Bears threw an interception on their fourth play from scrimmage.

Six running plays later, Texas expanded the lead to 38-27 on Roschon Johnson's nifty TD run with 3:48 left but Bears backers still had hope.

That hope evaporated as Baylor failed to pick up a first down in four plays as the Bears failed to cover.

Mountain West madness

Utah State backers (+17) were in a good spot after the Aggies scored a TD to cut Boise State's lead to 28-23 midway through the fourth quarter of the Mountain West contest.

The Broncos punted, and the Aggies drove to the Boise State 11, but Utah State threw an interception on fourth down.

It was still 28-23 with about 90 seconds to but Boise State QB Taylen Green scored on a 91-yard TD run, making it 35-23. Still covering!

After two incompletions and a sack, Boise State scored on a pick-six with 31 seconds to go. Boise State 42, Utah State 23.

Bayou bad beat

The Southern Jaguars rolled to a 34-17 victory over the Grambling State Tigers in the FCS Bayou Classic in New Orleans.

The Jaguars not scoring the 35th point hurt Over bettors.

Leading 28-17, Southern's Kriston Davis returned an interception 42 yards for a pick six with 2:58 to go.

It's called a pick-six for a reason instead of a pick seven as the Jaguars missed the extra point.

The O/U was 51.5.

Easy win (plus points!)

All of us love the feeling New Mexico State bettors had.

The Aggies were +24.5 points against Liberty. New Mexico State led 28-7 at halftime and cruised to a 49-14 win.

With the points, Aggies bettors covered by 59.5 points. They were also +1200 on the moneyline. Sure is nice to have a bet all but wrapped up before halftime.

Stay tuned for more of the wackiness!

And if you want to join in on the fun (or madness), head over to FOX Bet for all your wagers.

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