There are backdoor covers and then there's the ending to today's matchup between the San Francisco 49ers and Los Angeles Rams. The Niners closed as 7.5-point favorites on the road against the Rams at kickoff. After a competitive first half that saw the Rams hold a seven-point lead with 1:45 left before halftime, the 49ers tied the game before the end of the second quarter and scored 17 unanswered points to take a 10-point lead.
Both teams hit field goals late, but the Niners were up 10 points again with 3:02 left and had a chance to seal the game after stopping the Rams on 4th-and-1. However, the Niners' next drive featured an offensive holding penalty, an illegal crack back penalty and a kick-catch interference penalty that gave the Rams the ball on their own 30 yard line.
The Rams needed 10 points in 1:34 seconds and ran a 10-play drive that got them to the 49ers' 20-yard line with four seconds left.
Game over, right? Wrong.
Rams head coach Sean McVay brought out the kicking team to attempt a 38-yard field goal and, of course, it sailed through the uprights.
The field goal was absolutely brutal for 49ers bettors. According to Action Network's public betting data, 71% of betting tickets were on the Niners to cover and 57% of the money was on the 49ers, too. According to our live cover probability tracker, the Niners had a 72% chance to cover the 7.5-point spread with 20 seconds left. As for Rams +7.5 bettors? They are all McVay fans tonight.
