It would have been enough for the Baltimore Ravens and Cleveland Browns to give us one of the most entertaining games of the season on Monday Night Football to cap Week 14. Baltimore’s 47-42 win included inspired performances from quarterbacks Lamar Jackson and Baker Mayfield, a 55-yard game-winning field goal from Justin Tucker, and speculation that the reigning MVP left the game in the second half to use the bathroom (Jackson: “I didn’t pull a Paul Pierce. I was cramping.”). This was already a modern day Monday Night classic even before the final kickoff triggered a massive gambling swing on a meaningless play in the closing seconds.
Ravens’ last second safety is an all-time gambling moment
Baltimore’s safety on the final kickoff had major gambling and fantasy football implications.
Ricky O'Donnell has covered basketball at all levels for more than a decade at SB Nation. He’s currently the Associate Director of Programming.
The Ravens kicked off with two seconds left on the clock after Tucker nailed the go-ahead field goal to go up by three. The Browns went with the hook-and-ladder strategy as the receiving team. Cleveland threw the ball backwards several times before the Ravens finally pinned them deep and forced a safety.
Baltimore’s three-point win turned into a five-point win. That meant a lot of money changed hands with most sports books setting the line for the game at Ravens -3 or -3.5. Here’s a look at the final play:
The moment that final play started, I immediately wondered what the gambling line was. It never fails.
Imagine having Browns +3.5 and losing the bet on that final safety. This guy knows all about it:
The final kickoff also had fantasy football implications. How many people lost in the fantasy playoffs like this guy because Baltimore added a safety at the end?
There are bad beats, and then there’s that.
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