It was a bad beat turned into a dream cover for half of betters and a dream cover turned into bad beat for the other half in a wild finish to the Buccaneers – Texans game. Houston was 2.5-point favorites heading into the game, and the money was split directly 50-50 down the middle, according to Action's betting data, while Tampa Bay had a slight 51-49 edge in terms of total bets.
It looked like the Texans were going to cover laying 2.5-points thanks to a fourth-quarter field goal by running back Dare Ogunbowale.
Yes, you read that right– running back Dare Ogunbowale.
The Texans were forced to use their emergency kicker after a quad injury forced Ka'imi Fairbairn out of the game. Houston opted to go for two-point conversions most of the second half, but trotted out Ogunbowale for a 29-yard field goal on fourth-and-goal from Tampa Bay's 11 yard line. He hardly crushed it, but the ball floated straight through the uprights for a 33-30 lead. In the process, he became the first non-kicker to make a field goal since Wes Welker did so way back in 2004.
At that moment, it looked like the Texans would cover the spread in the most unorthodox fashion. However, Tampa Bay marched down the field for what appeared to be the game-winning touchdown drive when Baker Mayfield fired a dart to Cade Otton with 46 ticks left. You could practically hear the groans from Houston backers and cheers from Tampa Bay’s supporters as the Bucs took a 37-33 lead.
The drama didn’t end there, though, as C.J. Stroud marched the Texans on a 40-second miracle touchdown drive to go ahead score with six seconds left. In the process, he set a rookie record with 470 passing yards.
Of course, that made it 39-37, giving Houston a two-point lead.
So, what would Texans’ coach DeMeco Ryans do? Go for two? Kick the extra point? Would Houston cover laying 2.5-points int he process? Well, Ryans made the smart play, taking a knee in order to prevent Tampa Bay from potentially returning a try the other way to tie the game.
Unfortunately for Texans bettors, that sealed cover for the Buccaneers and broke the hearts of the other half of the bettors in what will surely be one of the craziest finishes to a game all year.