NFL bettors were left outraged by what happened in the final seconds of Sunday’s game between the Las Vegas Raiders and the Denver Broncos. Down ten, the Raiders completed a pass to about the Denver 33-yard line, and the clock should have run out before Las Vegas had a chance to run another play. The defender took his time getting off of the receiver, though, and the referee called a penalty for delay of game on the defense, stopping the clock with four seconds left.
The Raiders proceeded to kick a meaningless field goal as time expired to lose by seven. Bettors claimed that the fix was in, as the spread was Broncos -8.5, so the last-second field goal meant that Denver did not cover the spread:
One of the bettors who was furious was Barstool Sports’ own Dave Portnoy. He posted a video on X calling for an investigation into the Raiders. He labeled it the “worst beat of all time” during the rant:
Portnoy went on to call out the referee for throwing the flag, which he called “the most random bogus phantom flag of all time.” It is unclear exactly how much money Portnoy had riding on the Broncos beating the spread.
the plan was to attempt a field goal and then have enough time to go for an onside kick
Some more level-headed people broke down why the Raiders’ decision to take a field goal made sense. Adam Turriger explained that the plan was to attempt a field goal and then have enough time to go for an onside kick, but clearly the clock did not agree with that plan.
