Bettors were seconds from big money, then the 49ers made it a ‘worst-case scenario’
By now, this we know: The 49ers’ magical season marched on Sunday and Arizona Cardinals’ bettors can’t have good things.
Down 16-0 early to 10-point road underdogs Arizona, the host 49ers capped a stunning comeback with a 36-26 victory and improved to an NFC-best 9-1 in Santa Clara.
Blah, blah, blah. Yeah, fine, whatever. Sunday was a day that pushed bettors and the casinos that love them to the brink.
Fans of the red and gold may have called the fumble free safety D.J. Reed Jr. scooped off of the Levi’s Stadium turf for six points on the game’s final play magic, but it was anything but at Caesars Race and Sports Book in Las Vegas, where the spread closed with San Francisco as a 10-point home favorite.
Jeff Davis, Caesars’ director of trading, didn’t mince words. Sunday’s freak ending, he told ESPN, was a “worst-case scenario.”
The 49ers managed to pull a push out of thin air in the final seconds. All bets were refunded. Back to that worst-case scenario.
“We needed the Cardinals to lose by more than 10,” Davis told ESPN. “San Francisco by four was no good, but by 10 was worse.”
Bettors who laid money on the 49ers at minus-10? Save your money for when the Green Bay Packers visit Levi’s Stadium next week.
And Cardinals’ bettors and the establishments that took their cash?
Arizona was up 16-0 in the early going. An upset win on the road or a loss by fewer than 10 and the money is there for the taking. Gamble responsibly. Please keep your receipts.
Even after 49ers quarterback Jimmy Garappolo connected with Jeff Wilson on a 25-yard strike to take a 30-26 lead with 31 seconds left, Arizona bets were safe. That didn’t even last a minute.
It took just seconds for dreams of a Cardinals’ payday to go up in smoke.
Arizona lined up on their 22-yard line with under 10 seconds left. Kyler Murray, who threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the loss, flicked a pass to Larry Fitzgerald, who tossed a failed lateral. The football bounced to the turf and Reed picked up the late gift for the touchdown run as time expired.
“This is the end of the game,” referee Walt Anderson said on the field following the play.
Final score: 36-26, San Francisco. Ten points and a push.
There was no extra-point try because the NFL changed the rule last year that a winning team attempt an extra point or 2-point conversion on touchdowns as time expires.
“This would mean a lot to a certain amount of people if this is going to be a touchdown,” Fox’s Chris Myers told the television audience as the 49ers celebrated in the end zone.
Bookmakers call it a “miracle push.” Sports writers call it a “bad beat.” Fans of cold, hard cash, however, have another name.
Too bad we can’t print it.
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