The beauty of betting on sports is that any moment, play or inch can make a difference in the context of money being won or lost, even if some might not realize it.
That was as evident as it gets on the final play of the Rams vs 49ers Monday Night Football game in Week 4, as Darrell Henderson carried the ball to close out a 24-9 victory for the 49ers:
"D.Henderson left guard to SF 40 for 5 yards (D.Greenlaw). End game."
For all intents and purposes, the play didn't swing any major markets. The spread, which largely ranged from 49ers -1 to 49ers -2, wasn't impacted, while the total, which could've been taken anywhere pre-game from 47.5 to 42, wasn't close to being touched.
However, there was one market which was swung solely by Henderson's carry: Henderson's rushing total, which was set at 22.5 pregame, was eclipsed on the final run.
Before the play, Henderson had amassed 22 yards on the ground. After the play, that number was 27.
What makes the outcome wild is that any rational person would have declared the market all but settled toward the end of the game, as the Rams had no choice but to throw the ball down two scores deep in the fourth quarter.
In their penultimate drive, the Rams threw the ball 10 times in a row to conclude the possession, while the two plays prior to Henderson's run on the Rams' final drive were also passes.
After Matt Stafford took a big hit on the Rams' second-to-last play of the game, head coach and play-caller Sean McVay decided to throw in the towel and forgo risking any further damage to his quarterback.
Because of this, and because Henderson is the predominant third-down and two-minute back for the Rams, the outcome of his rushing prop was changed.
If you had the over in the market, congratulations on an early holiday present. If you had the under, my sincerest apologies.
