Those who bet on the Green Bay Packers -2.5 or the Cincinnati Bengals +2.5 had a truly insufferable last hour or so.
If you're one of those sad, sad souls, you have full license to crack open a beer as soon as you possibly can.
Across the last two minutes of the fourth quarter and overtime, the two teams combined to miss five straight game-winning field goals.
The Packers' odds to cover at -2.5 swung from as high as 95% to as low as 12% in the matter of seconds, according to The Action Network's proprietary data.
To make matters worse, none of this nonsense would've went down had Mason Crosby not missed an extra point attempt in the second quarter.
As someone who live bet the Packers moneyline — and had Packers +3 in a variety of two- and three-team teasers — I can say that zero sense of relief, nor any semblance of happiness, washed over me after this game finally ended. Only contempt.
This saga started with the Bengals driving 75 yards in about seven minutes to get in the end zone and make the score 22-20. They then nabbed a two-point conversion to tie the game at 22.
Aaron Rodgers and the Packers promptly marched 57 yards the other way before settling on a 36-yard field goal attempt with 2:14 left to go.
Crosby had made 27 straight field goals up until this point.
He missed it wide left.
The Bengals and Joe Burrow went right back up the field and gave their rookie kicker Evan McPherson a chance for a 57-yard field goal.
McPherson clanged that one off the upright with 21 seconds remaining.
Then, Aaron Rodgers — as he does — got the Packers back into field goal range with one 20-yard fling to Davante Adams.
Crosby missed again, this time from 51 yards out.
The Bengals won the overtime coin flip and decided to receive.
On the first play of OT, Joe Burrow threw a pick and put the Packers directly back into field goal range.
Matt LaFleur and Co. decided to be heavily conservative, run the ball on two straight plays, then kick a field goal on third down. Someone's gotta explain the concept of expected value to that guy. (Read: 2020 NFC Championship Game).
Crosby's kick missed wife left — again. This one was from 40 yards.
Burrow then put together a nice drive into Green Bay territory that ended with a 4th-and-1 opportunity from the Packers' 32-yard line. There's something to be said about going for it in that situation, killing more clock and giving your kicker a better chance to walk it off.
But the Bengals decided to defer to their rookie kicker and launch one from 49 yards out.
It went wide left. McPherson celebrated like it had gone in.
The Bengals field goal unit started celebrating after they thought they had kicked a game-winning field goal in OT. The kick was missed. pic.twitter.com/1ksN6Zl0ek
— FOX Sports: NFL (@NFLonFOX) October 10, 2021
This whole drill went down one more time with another drive. Rodgers drove the Packers down the field, they were stymied with a similar 4th-and-1 opportunity from the Bengals' 32-yard line and LaFleur, somehow, had the courage to elect to kick it.
This time, it went in, and everyone's grisly nightmare was finally over.
Mason Crosby redeems himself with the game-winner!
Packers survive the Bengals in OT.
(via @nfl) pic.twitter.com/EN6UvKT1re
— SportsCenter (@SportsCenter) October 10, 2021
