Yahoo Finance In just one half there was already an NFL playoffs bad beat, as Bills get a ridiculous first-half cover
All Frank Reich had to do was kick the field goal.
Or, all the Colts defense had to do was stay onside.
If you had the Colts +3.5 in the first half, the NFL playoffs have started in a really rough way.
The Colts played a very good first half, and with two minutes left in the half anyone betting on Indianapolis in the first half seemed to have a lock.
There are no locks.
The Colts led 10-7 and had the ball at the Bills’ 1-yard line. Then it started to get wild. The Colts made a bad call, tossing wide to Jonathan Taylor on third-and-goal. He lost 3 yards. Then, even though analytics said it was slightly the right call to kick a field goal, Reich went for it on fourth down. It almost worked out, but Philip Rivers’ pass barely went off Michael Pittman Jr.’s hands.
Still, the Bills needed to drive 96 yards for a touchdown in less than two minutes.
The Bills quickly started driving. They hit two sideline catches that were so close they had to be reviewed. Both stood. On a fourth-and-3, the Bills tried the hard-count trick, trying to draw the Colts offsides. Just before the delay of game, the Colts jumped offsides. First down. Had the Colts just not jumped offsides, it’s very likely first-half Indianapolis bettors would have won.
At that point, Colts bettors had to know how their bet would turn out. Allen had a nice run inside the 10-yard line and with 14 seconds left he ran 5 yards for a touchdown. Colts bettors didn’t catch a break on the extra point, because it was good and the Bills went into halftime leading 14-10. Those Bills -3.5 tickets for the first half cashed.
For Colts first-half bettors, maybe the final 12.5 playoff games will bring better luck.
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