Mahomes late-game slide was a smart play to seal win but cost NFL bettors £82.5M
When Patrick Mahomes slid for a first down just before the end zone on Sunday night, it meant that the Kansas City Chiefs could kneel and secure a narrow victory against the New York Jets.
The Chiefs held off a late fightback from the home team to win 23-20, as Zach Wilson put the pressure on Mahomes in the second and third quarter. Mahomes put the Chiefs into a 17-0 lead, and Wilson was booed by his own fans at the end of the first quarter.
However, the Jets fought back and the game was tied heading into the fourth, but once again Mahomes managed to inspire victory in the final quarter and ended the game by rushing for a first down with 1:53 to play. Mahomes went down voluntarily just one yard outside the end zone, which was a smart play as it guaranteed victory.
For those backing the Chiefs to win it meant that the win was secured, but it hurt millions of others that either put money on the points spread, or even Mahomes to score himself. The quarterback did the right thing for his team, but $100 million (£82.5m) was lost as he turned down the extra yard.
As the game kicked off on Sunday night, the Chiefs were -7.5 point favourites to beat the Jets, although they were as high as -9.5 point favourites earlier in the game week. For those backing the points spread a Mahomes touchdown would have secured a nice win, as the Chiefs were already leading by three.
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A touchdown would have extended their lead to nine, with an extra point attempt likely to make that 10. The Jets would have needed two scores to come away from MetLife with any success, with just 1:50 remaining and no time outs.
Mahomes' play was genius but enraged some fans (2023 Getty Images)Mahomes' action was tactical and guaranteed, not allowing the Jets any chance to score a touchdown and recover an onside kick - even if very unlikely. But according to SInow, it cost punters almost $100 million (£82.5m) with $80 million (£66m) wagered on the game, and a large proportion on the Chiefs and Mahomes to win comfortably.
The Chiefs quarterback admitted after the game that it wasn't a routine victory, and risked annoying punters even more as he celebrated winning "ugly".
"It’s always good when you find a way to win," Mahomes said.
Mahomes led the Chiefs to a third win of the season"I’ve learned in my six or seven years you can win pretty, but you have to win ugly too in order to win Super Bowls. For me, even though I hate it while it’s happening, I feel like it makes you better in the end if you win games like this where not everything is going perfect.
"We did that last year, and we’re going to try to do that again this year and then try to keep getting better so we’re playing our best football at the end of the season." The Chiefs are now 3-1 after recovering from a shock defeat against the Detroit Lions in Week 1.
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