NFL Sunday Bettors Dazed and Confused by Wild Endings

Posted on: September 26, 2022, 06:38h. 

Last updated on: September 27, 2022, 06:23h.

Erik Gibbs Read More
Expertise: Asia Pacific Gaming, Gaming Business, Global Gaming.

Sunday was a mixed bag of results for NFL fans and bettors. One of the biggest takeaways is that the Tampa Bay Buccaneers definitely aren’t the same team they were last year.

Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Tampa Bay Buccaneers QB Tom Brady (12) is slow to get up after a sack in the team’s game against the Green Bay Packers. The Bucs lost in one of several upsets from Sunday. (Image: Associated Press)

The Bucs forgot they had to play football on Sunday. They finally realized it late in the fourth quarter, but it was too late. Tom Brady wasn’t himself when facing the Green Bay Packers in a game full of turnovers.

He put up 271 yards as he completed 31 of 42 passes, but it was nowhere near enough to make an impact. Six points in three quarters – both off-field goals – showed the limits of Tampa Bay’s offense this season as they move to 2-1.

The game wasn’t pretty on either side. The Bucs finally scored a TD late in the fourth to get in a position to tie the score. As the game’s waning seconds ticked away like deafening alarms, a feeble two-point conversion attempt failed miserably, leaving the Bucs with a 14-12 loss.

Tampa’s offense and defense were both ineffective in the first half but started to find themselves in the second. The Packers couldn’t get on the board after halftime, despite QB Aaron Rodgers having a fairly solid game. He completed passes worth 255 yards in the air, but Green Bay went scoreless after the break.

The game didn’t come close to the 42 over/under. But bettors who took the Packers on the spread aren’t complaining about the outcome. The Packers now face the New England Patriots, while the Bucs will take on the Kansas City Chiefs.

Tua Pushes Past the Bills

The butt punt that will be discussed for the rest of the season hasn’t dampened the mood in the Miami Dolphins locker room. QB Tua Tagovailoa, even with a short exit from the game after a rough hit, came out and did what he knew he could do. He led the Fins to beat the Buffalo Bills 21-19. Miami now has control of the AFC East with a 3-0 record.

The Bills can’t blame the loss on QB Josh Allen. He was on fire throughout the game. Miami’s defense applied pressure at the right times to suppress the Bills.

The Fins won despite a punt by Thomas Morstead ricocheting off the rear end of Trent Sherfield late in the fourth. That moved the Bills to within two after they recovered for a safety. However, they couldn’t do anything with the minute that remained on the clock.

The sportsbooks expected Buffalo to win and also expected a much higher score. Bettors who took the underdog and the under came out on top.

The Bills might feel a little more pain from the loss. Offensive coordinator Ken Dorsey threw a fit as Buffalo tried to make something happen with time running out. During his tantrum, he smashed a league-supplied tablet caught on camera. The incident comes just a week after the NFL warned teams to take better care of the equipment it issued and could result in a fine.

Underdogs Continue to Impress

NFL Week 3 has delivered six underdog wins, including the Tennessee Titans upsetting the Las Vegas Raiders. Since the beginning of the season, underdogs have had good runs, although this week saw more favorites hit than in the first two weeks.

Of the underdogs that claimed victories so far, five did so on their turf. In addition, there are now just two teams still looking for their first wins. The Raiders still have a goose egg in the win column, as do the Houston Texans.

Houston, though, at least pulled off a tie. On the other end of the spectrum, there are five teams who remain undefeated.

The under landed in eight of the 15 games played so far this week. That’s slightly lower, at 53%, than the 60% found in Weeks 1 and 2, but is still high. The over/under is continuing to drop across the league’s games as teams fail to live up to sportsbooks’ expectations.